Decisions, decisions
Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers (4,086 sq mi). It is located in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, and is elevated 3,656 meters (11,995 ft) above the sea level.The Salar is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. (So flat that it is used to calibrate Earth observation satelittes' altimeters!)
The Salar is virtually devoid of any wild life and vegetation. The latter is dominated by giant cacti. They grow at a rate of about 1 centimeter (0.39 in) per year to a length of about 12 meters (39 ft) (We're talking about 1,200 years old cacti!). Also present are quinoa plants and quenua bushes. Every November, Salar de Uyuni is the breeding grounds for pink South American flamingos. Andean fox (culpeo) is a representative animal, and the "islands" of Salar (in particular the Incahuasi island, which is also called Isla del Pescadores. I’ll post a picture of it) host a colony of rabbit-like viscachas.
A total of 200 species adapted to the extreme life conditions and a lot of them are endangered.
The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium: 50 to 70% of the world's reserves, which has yet to be extracted and represent a great interest for several international companies. The industrial extraction of Lithium, if it happens, might change theses landscapes for ever, and endanger the local species even more.
This place is an enormous ecological challenge.
Comments and faves
Ingólfur B, Myarmy, paulgalbraith, Manny Ibarra, and 883 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Ingólfur B (31 months ago | reply)
Maaan this looks good. Brilliant!
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thank you Ingolfur B. :)
Myarmy (31 months ago | reply)
cool !!
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thanks Myarmy :)
Manny Ibarra (31 months ago | reply)
Wow. Brilliant composition.
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thank you Manny Ibarra ;)
nicoyangjie (31 months ago | reply)
Amazing！！！
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thanks nicoyangjie!
Le***Refs *PHOTOGRAPHIE* (31 months ago | reply)
alors sa! c'est vraiment bien foutu!! quelle paysage de désolation !!
belle compo! j'aime je fav! :)
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
merci beaucoup ! ouais ce lac de sel est complètement incroyable, je conseille à quiconque d'y aller, s'il/elle en a l'occasion.
LarryHB (31 months ago | reply)
salt of the earth
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
oh yeah, 10 billion tons !
Cindy Griffin (31 months ago | reply)
Wonderful! I love this one!
CGA[AvoidingResourcefulGooglers] (31 months ago | reply)
this needs to be explored. immediately!
StefanoG.com (31 months ago | reply)
La croisée des chemins, vraiment extra!
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thank you very much guys :)
xiaopat (31 months ago | reply)
Fantastic shot !
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
@ Dan Ballard: Amazing place isn't it? I wish I can return there when I master photography like you do. Don't screw you sunday for me, you can answer the filter question later ;)
@ xiaopat: merci :)
Feo David (31 months ago | reply)
génial poto !! du tres grand art, les couleurs (meme si il y en a peu) sont sublimes !
Ivanhoe057 (31 months ago | reply)
Classe cet endroit !
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
@Théo: merci mec :) au fait jvais pas tarder à passer par paris, entretiens TFE obligent, il faudra tomber une bière
@ Ivanhoe057: l'endroit est incroyable, je le recommande !
heavenly~flower (31 months ago | reply)
Your salt flat images are stunning~this is my fav. I love the lines and how the sky blends in with the ground you are standing on.
rosinberg (31 months ago | reply)
What a surreal landscape, beautifully captured! Love the silhouette among the emptiness.
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
@ heavenly~flower: Thank you! I have still a few pics of this salt flat to upload but I confess that I like this one too :)
@rosinberg: thanks a lot! I wonder if I didn't over exposed it a little bit though...
Jeremy Tan, KL (31 months ago | reply)
Nice capture.
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thanks Jeremy!
Olympe B. (31 months ago | reply)
c'est somptueux!!la compo est fabuleuse!!!
Ali@flickr (31 months ago | reply)
spectacular composition! what planet have you landed on?
beautiful beautiful work !!!
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
@ Olympe B: merci beaucoup :)
@Ali Almasieh: on planet Bolivia ;) really an different world! thanks!
benft (31 months ago | reply)
at a spot like this, it seems like the decision is easy...it makes no difference.... (wonderful image and place!)
nikola.vukasinovic (31 months ago | reply)
This is great! love it
ERIC2MANGEL (31 months ago | reply)
Votre série en Amérique du Sud est splendide !
Surat Lozowick (31 months ago | reply)
Awesome shot. Perfect. The contrast of you against the white, the symmetry of the lines, the view...everything is very well done. Great job.
Felix.doe (31 months ago | reply)
I like all of your pictures, so I am happy you started to make photos again
nice pictures (all)
Wojtek Toman (31 months ago | reply)
Cool shot!
Gustavo de P. Oliveira (31 months ago | reply)
Cool shot! Cool!!!
Arthur Matos (31 months ago | reply)
Perfeita simetria e tons!
Sylvie_L (31 months ago | reply)
Seul au monde!
Bonne idée de t'être mis à la croisée des chemins comme ça.
herrikkane (31 months ago | reply)
a m a z i n g ! !
Buenos días, tristeza (31 months ago | reply)
genial!! que pureza, y la atmósfera increíble... fantástica imagen.
shakerk (31 months ago | reply)
nice work!
manu4971 (31 months ago | reply)
Très belle composition!
Folk|Photography (31 months ago | reply)
Love this shot! Nicely done!
Shari-Lynn1 (31 months ago | reply)
Excellent shot! I really enjoy your work :)
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
Thank you very much everybody, I greatly appreciate all your faves and comments! I'll keep on posting the pics of this area tomorrow ;)
Pier-Luc (31 months ago | reply)
Wowww :)
lisaw.ferguson (31 months ago | reply)
good shot
page.closed (31 months ago | reply)
This picture made my first explore ever :) Thank you very much for all your visits, comments and faves!
Feo David (31 months ago | reply)
Bien mérité l'explore, et c est parti pour une longue série. Bien joué !
Soleil is me. (31 months ago | reply)
Oh! exactly...so very beautiful art from you:)
And I admire your wonderful creation:) Thank you to share your great work.
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