The world's largest natural mirror

06 marzo 2008

Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 km² (4,085 square miles). It is located in the Potosí and Oruro departments in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, 3,650 meters high. When it is covered with water, the Salar de Uyuni reflects the sky.


The salt is over 10 meters thick in the center. In the dry season, the salt planes are a completely flat expanse of dry salt, but in the wet season, it is covered with a thin sheet of water which makes the most beautiful reflections.


Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tons of salt, of which less than 25,000 tons is extracted annually.

You can see every mountain and every cloud reflected in the salar and you can't tell how far away they are or where the sky starts and ends [1].

Due to its large size, smooth surface, high surface reflectivity when covered with shallow water, and minimal elevation deviation, Salar de Uyuni makes an ideal target for the testing and calibration of remote sensing instruments on orbiting satellites used to study the Earth.



In addition to providing an excellent target surface the skies above Salar de Uyuni are so clear, and the air so dry, that the surface works up to five times better for satellite calibration than using the surface of the ocean.


23 Respuestas ( Deja un comentario )

  1. Anónimo dijo...
  2. Those people shouldn't be allowed to walk on the 19th wonder of the world! "Mirror, mirror, on the ground, who's got the fairest feet of all?"

    If you're a drudge fan: drudgetracker.com

  3. Anónimo dijo...
  4. Oh do shut up.

  5. asha dijo...
  6. People are such idiots. They should keep off the damn flats. They will ruin them. Do we have to destroy everything? Can't we leave anything alone?

  7. Anónimo dijo...
  8. Oh, come on. I know we seem to be good at ruining everything we touch, but it's a 4000 sq. mile salt flat. Folks have been roaming around on the Utah salt flats for a long time, and they don't seem any worse for wear. I think it will probably be OK if people should choose to go out on the flats. Unless we all need to just disappear! maybe that will help.

  9. chaosgone dijo...
  10. That's so cool!

  11. Anónimo dijo...
  12. i want to get one to my home. really cool. thank you from turkey

  13. Anónimo dijo...
  14. Stay off them? Fuck you.

  15. l3utterfish dijo...
  16. amacing post. thank you

  17. Unknown dijo...
  18. awesome!

  19. Phil Whitehouse dijo...
  20. Saying people shouldn't want on the flats is like saying they shouldn't build sandcastles at the beach. The water level rises and falls over the seasons, resetting the state of things.

    I'm the guy in the photo by the way!

  21. Phil Whitehouse dijo...
  22. By the way, the author of this blog ought to read the terms of the Creative Commons licencing a bit more closely...it's linked from these photos. You're obliged to accredit the photos underneath each photo. I'm not that bothered, but someone else might be.

  23. Antonio Martínez Ron dijo...
  24. Hi Phil! Your pictures are great! Tnank you for sharing :)

  25. ale dijo...
  26. did you go in March? i am planning on going this March and i really hope i get these water reflections!!

    great post! woohoo!

  27. Anónimo dijo...
  28. Lol, stay off salt flats? Did you see artistic natural formations that I didn't, and throngs of tourists stomping all over them? THEY ARE FLAT. IT IS SALT. Don't be a retarded and overbearing conservationist, you're making the rest of us look very bad.

  29. Phil Whitehouse dijo...
  30. I went in August, when the flats were largely dry except where the locals were harvesting the salt. Even when they're dry, the water table is only just under the surface, so it doesn't take much digging to find water.

  31. benenos1 dijo...
  32. Oh no you can't do that. Leave the flats alone. You shouldn't be allowed to walk on them. OH SHUT UP!! You only get one trip through this life. Enjoy it while you can. Is that the best you can do with your time here. To be the planet's cop. and say you can't do that, typical nimby. Just do us a favor and shut your trap. Nature is there for us to enjoy. If not, what would be the purpose of preserving it, then just tear it down and make a parking lot of it!

  33. Unknown dijo...
  34. pai, eu to no chongas!!!

  35. Anónimo dijo...
  36. Bet you they never have problems with slugs in that area.

  37. Anónimo dijo...
  38. The more you say, the less people remember.

  39. Anónimo dijo...
  40. Están de lo mejor estas imagenes, no sabia q existia tal cosa, pero si q es muy bonito todo esto ... Gracias por poner tan bonitas imagenes ...

  41. Anónimo dijo...
  42. To Asha(Entry Nr.3)

    We can lead Brotney Alone.
    Damn who are you? Chris Crocker?

  43. Erfan Fekri dijo...
  44. Thank you for ur good information and pics.
    good luck dude

  45. magicpotion~ dijo...
  46. Very interesting that the only naturally reflective substances in the wild are the cornea of eyes (looking into another humans eye) and the surface tension of water (the most unique and life-conducive substance on earth).

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