Salt "Pan"oramas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Salar de Uyuni

Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat. It is located in the Andes Mountains of southwest Bolivia and covers over 4,000 square miles (10,300 square km). This is the result of a prehistoric lake that dried up and left its minerals and salts behind. During the rainy season, a thin layer of water gathers on top of the salt. Because the ground is perfectly flat, it acts like a giant mirror, reflecting back the clouds and sky.

Underneath that white salt crust sits a huge supply of lithium, a metal used to make batteries for cell phones and electric cars. And smack in the middle of this "sea of salt" is a hilly place called Incahuasi Island. It is covered in giant, ancient cacti that can grow over 30 feet (9 meters) tall.

Answer: Makgadikgadi Pans

The Makgadikgadi Pans is one of the largest salt flat complexes in the world. The dried salt lakes sit in the middle of the savanna of northeastern Botswana. Thousands of years ago, a massive lake called Lake Makgadikgadi covered this entire area. As the climate changed and the rivers that fed it diverted, the lake dried up, leaving behind several massive, varied salt pans. The two largest are Nwetwe Pan and Sua Pan.

When the rains come, the pans turn into a shallow sludge of algae and tiny crustaceans. This brings several types of animals, including a massive migration of zebras and wildebeest, to eat the plants. It also beckons tens of thousands of greater flamingos who use it as their breeding ground.

Answer: Atacama Salt Flat

The Atacama Salt Flat is the largest salt flat in Chile. It's located in the middle of the Atacama Desert, which is one of the driest places in the world. Much of the salt flat here is covered in various rough blocks of salt that have been pushed up by the earth and weathered by the wind. It sits in a high-altitude basin surrounded by volcanoes and mountains.

Even though the desert around it is very arid, there are several deep, bright blue lagoons right in the middle of the salt. The most famous is Laguna Cejar, which is so salty that people can float in very easily, similar to the Dead Sea. Andean flamingos thrive here, unexpectedly, as they eat tiny brine shrimp that live in those salty lagoons.

Answer: Etosha Pan

The Etosha Pan is a huge salt crust located in northern Namibia. It is so large that it can be seen from space, and its name literally means "Great White Place" in the local language. Millions of years ago, it was a lake fed by the Kunene River. When the river diverted, the lake dried up, leaving behind a roughly 75 mile (120 km) long depression of chalky clay and salt. For most of the year, it is extremely arid where the heat creates mirages that make it look like there is water when there is none.

However, around the edges of the pan, there are varied natural springs and waterholes. This makes it a popular place for African animals to come and drink. The elephants that come to the site often cover themselves with the white dust of the pan to protect themselves from the harsh sun, and end up looking like large ghosts wandering around the area.

Answer: Rann of Kutch

The Rann of Kutch is a huge seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert of Gujarat, India. It is one of the largest types of these deserts in the world and is famous for its "White Rann"-an expanse of pure white salt that glows at night. The Rann of Kutch is right next to the Arabian Sea and during the monsoon season, the flat land fills up with seawater and river runoff, turning it into a massive, shallow wetland. When the water evaporates in the summer heat, it leaves behind a thick crust of salt and mud.

During the winter, the salt crust is so white and flat that it reflects the moon perfectly. India even hosts a famous festival there called Rann Utsav, where people come to see the "White Desert" under a full moon. It is also a huge breeding ground for the greater flamingo in India.

Answer: Bonneville Salt Flats

The Bonneville Salt Flats is a massive, densely packed salt crust located in northwestern Utah. The flats cover about 30,000 acres (12,140 hectares) of the Great Salt Lake Desert. Many years ago, a giant freshwater lake called Lake Bonneville covered the area. As the climate warmed, the lake began to dry up. Because the water couldn't flow out to the sea, it evaporated and left behind a thick layer of minerals and common table salt that is up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep in some spots.

Because the salt is so flat and hard, it is used as a natural racetrack. Since 1914, people have traveled there for "Speed Week" to try and break land speed records. Over the years, both scientists and the racing community have worked together to restock the salt by pumping salty brine back onto the flats to keep the crust from disappearing.

Answer: Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is the lowest natural point in Australia and is located in the deserts of South Australia. It is a massive basin that covers around 4,000 square miles (10,300 square km). Most of the time, Lake Eyre isn't a lake but is a huge, dry salt pan. It only fills up completely about twice every 100 years. Because it sits in a basin, any water that flows into it from the surrounding rivers has nowhere to go but to evaporate, leaving behind a thick crust of salt.

One of the greatest mysteries of the area is how Australian pelicans - living thousands of miles away on the coast - somehow sense when the lake is filling. They fly inland in massive flocks to breed in the middle of the salt water. As the water then begins to evaporate again and the salt gets more concentrated, a special kind of algae grows that turns the water a bright pink color.

Answer: Chott el Djerid

Chott el Djerid is the largest salt pan in the Sahara Desert, located in southern Tunisia. It covers over 2,700 square miles (7,000 square km). Because it is in a very hot, dry basin, any water that flows into it quickly evaporates. This leaves behind a thick crust of salt mixed with gypsum. Underneath the white salt crust, the water brine is often filled with special minerals and algae that give the water that seeps upward varied shades of bright pink, deep purple, or turquoise.

Because the pan is so flat and the heat is so intense, it is one of the most famous places in the world to see a "fata morgana". This is a mirage that can make distant mountains look like floating castles or islands in a lake that isn't there. Also, this salt pan is famous for "Desert Roses", which are flower-shaped crystal formations made of sand and gypsum that "grow" just beneath the surface of the salt.

Answer: Salinas Grandes

Salinas Grandes is one of the largest salt flats in the world and is located high in the Andes Mountains of northwest Argentina. It sits at an altitude of about 11,300 feet (3,400 meters) above sea level. It was formed when ancient, mineral-rich lakes evaporated over thousands of years and left behind a crust of salt that is nearly 12 inches (30 cm) thick in some places. There are many pools (called piletas) cut into the salt. Miners carve them to let the salty water evaporate, leaving behind pure white salt. The water in these pools turns a bright turquoise color.

Because the air is so thin and the sun is so strong at this altitude, the salt reflects light with incredible intensity. Because of that, salt miners wear dark sunglasses and face masks (to protect from the blinding sun) while carving out blocks of salt.

Answer: Namak Lake

Namak Lake is a massive, shallow salt flat located in the high desert of north-central Iran, near the city of Qom. For most of the year, it is a dry and white wasteland. Water only flows into it from a few desert rivers during the winter. Because the heat in the summer is so intense, the water evaporates almost instantly, leaving behind a thick crust of salt that is shaped like a giant triangle.

As the moisture quickly leaves the ground, the salt crust cracks into varied geometric shapes (mostly hexagons) that look like a giant honeycomb from above. For centuries, caravans on the Silk Road would travel past here, carrying spices and silk, often stopping to harvest the high-quality salt.