Panytourism_Tourism magazine
The largest mirror in the world
In the country of Bolivia, there is a region that turns into an amazing phenomenon on certain days of the year. The salt lake of Bolivia is where the boundary between the sky and the earth disappears and an incredible view is formed. With a little rain, this vast area turns into the world’s largest natural mirror, enclosing the eyes of every viewer.
This amazing land is located in the southwest of Bolivia near the Andes and is called Salar de Yuni in the local language. This phenomenon is the result of changes and natural transformations of a prehistoric lake over thousands of years. The surface of this desert is composed of white salt, unlike other deserts that are covered with sand. The surface of this salt desert is flat and smooth, and there are only a few high hills that stick out of the water like an “island” when the lake forms, doubling the beauty and wonder of this landscape. In the summer season, this area turns into a salty and dry desert, which is a huge source of lithium and salt. In fact, about 70% of the world’s lithium is supplied from this region. When it rains, this smooth surface turns into an extraordinary mirror, so large and polished that different countries use this lake to set up satellites. Salt surfaces are ideal options for setting the distance of satellite equipment because they are very wide and polished, and their reflectivity is similar to that of ice surfaces. As the largest salt desert on Earth, Salar de Yoni is perfect for this purpose.
The Bolivian salt desert, with an area of 10,582 thousand km, is the largest salt surface in the world. It is estimated that there are about 10 million tons of salt in this salt field. This huge volume of salt in one area raises the question of how Salar de Yioni was created. The scientific explanation of this phenomenon is that this area was a lake thousands of years ago, which was created by pouring water from the surrounding mountains. The surface of the Altiplano plateau (where this lake is located) did not have proper drainage for the water to leave, so the water remained in it. The water of this lake has evaporated under the hot Andean sun for thousands of years and what remains is a thick layer of salt. In this way, the largest salt area is formed.
But the indigenous people of this area have an unrealistic but more interesting explanation for the formation of this area, and this explanation is related to the three mountains that surround this area. According to them, these three mountains were giant humans who lived in this area in the distant past. According to legends, one of them loses his wife and this giant sheds so many tears in grief over his loss that the salt lake is born from the tears of the rebellion.
In the months of low rainfall from April to November, due to being far from industrial pollutants and also due to the high altitude of this area, the sky above the Salar de Youni lake is very clear and clear and the air is very dry. Salar Doyouni salt lake has a hard and solid surface. With the onset of seasonal rains, the rainwater gradually dissolves the salty surface of this area and creates a smooth and smooth surface. As a result, a lake with a height of less than one meter is created on the surface of this area. There are few areas that are so flat. The landscape that is created looks very surreal and unreal, as if it came out of one of Salvador Dali’s paintings. The sky, clouds and everything placed on this surface will be reflected in it. According to the tourists who have traveled to this area, after a while we lose the sense of time and place and feel as if we are walking in a magical and unreal land. The reflection of the sky in this lake is incredible and amazing in itself, but what adds to the wonder of this lake is that this area is home to migratory pink flamingos. Imagine thousands of pink flamingos flying over this amazing mirror. This picture is enough to find the motivation to travel to Bolivia and observe this phenomenon.
In recent years, the publication of wonderful photos of this lake has made it famous and popular, and many tourists from all over the world travel to Bolivia to see this beautiful phenomenon. The beauty of this natural mirror becomes a hundredfold as the sunset approaches and night falls, and the red reflection of the sunset on this mirror and then the image of the stars and the Milky Way on the lake create a wonderful and exceptional sight. Various tourism facilities have been created in this area, which has increased the arrival of tourists to the area. One of these services is a car ride and tour on the lake, which is very popular among tourists. If after reading these articles and seeing the photos, you are eager to travel to Bolivia and visit this natural mirror, don’t forget to take two things with you: First, sunscreen, because during the day, with the reflection of sunlight in the lake, its intensity is doubled. and you may get sunburned. And the most important thing is the camera!
