Natural salt pans or salt flats are flat expanses of ground covered with salt and other minerals , usually shining white under the sun . They are found in deserts and are natural formations (unlike salt evaporation ponds , which are artificial).
5-619: The Ntwetwe Pan is a large salt pan within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana . The Ntwetwe is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Sua Pan . Ntwetwe Pan is now a seasonal lake with filling occurring in the rainy season. Ntwetwe was first described to the European world by David Livingstone , pursuant to his explorations in this region. Significant archaeological recoveries have occurred within
10-424: A water pool, such as a lake or pond . This happens in climates where the rate of water evaporation exceeds the rate of precipitation — that is, in a desert. If the water cannot drain into the ground, it remains on the surface until it evaporates, leaving behind minerals precipitated from the salt ions dissolved in the water. Over thousands of years , the minerals (usually salts) accumulate on
15-568: A well-known salt pan in the arid regions of the western United States . The Etosha pan , in the Etosha National Park in Namibia , is another prominent example of a salt pan. The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the largest salt pan in the world. As of 2024, with an estimated 23 million tons , Bolivia holds about 22% of the world's known lithium resources (105 million tons); most of those are in
20-506: The Nwetwe Pan, including Stone Age tools from people who lived in this area, in an earlier time of prehistory when a large year round lake occupied the Nwetwe Pan area within the Makgadikgadi. 20°39′S 25°13′E / 20.65°S 25.22°E / -20.65; 25.22 This Botswana location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Salt pan (geology) A salt pan forms by evaporation of
25-469: The surface. These minerals reflect the sun's rays and often appear as white areas. Salt pans can be dangerous. The crust of salt can conceal a quagmire of mud that can engulf a truck. The Qattara Depression in the eastern Sahara Desert contains many such traps which served as strategic barriers during World War II . The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah , where many land speed records have been set, are
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