Salt pan (geology) in the context of "Altiplano"

A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location.

Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night strain the rocks, which consequently break into pieces. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter, and the resulting fragments and rubble strewn over the desert floor are further eroded by the wind. This picks up particles of sand and dust, which can remain airborne for extended periods – sometimes causing the formation of sand storms or dust storms. Wind-blown sand grains striking any solid object in their path can abrade the surface. Rocks are smoothed down, and the wind sorts sand into uniform deposits. The grains end up as level sheets of sand or are piled high in billowing dunes. Other deserts are flat, stony plains where all the fine material has been blown away and the surface consists of a mosaic of smooth stones, often forming desert pavements, and little further erosion occurs. Other desert features include rock outcrops, exposed bedrock and clays once deposited by flowing water. Temporary lakes may form and salt pans may be left when waters evaporate. There may be underground water sources in the form of springs and seepages from aquifers. Where these are found, oases can occur.

Garabogazköl (also spelled Kara-Bogaz-Gol; "Black Strait Lake"), or Garabogazköl Aylagy ("Black Strait Lake Bay"), is a shallow, highly saline lagoon off the Caspian Sea in northwestern Turkmenistan. The lagoon has a variable surface area typically about 18,000 km (6,900 sq mi). It is very shallow, with an average depth of 10 meters. It is separated from the Caspian Sea by a narrow, rocky ridge having a very narrow opening through which the Caspian Sea waters flow into it. There is likely a subterranean highly saline water flow when there is less evaporation in winter. The lagoon's volume fluctuates seasonally, accentuated by its salt evaporation ponds and seasonally dry salt pans.

The city of Garabogaz lies nearby, about 50 km (31 mi) north of the channel between the main Caspian basin and the Garabogazköl lagoon.

Sossusvlei (sometimes written Sossus Vlei) is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia. The name "Sossusvlei" is often used in an extended meaning to refer to the surrounding area (including other neighbouring vleis such as Deadvlei and other high dunes). These landmarks are some of the major visitor attractions of Namibia.

The name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin and roughly means "dead-end marsh". Vlei is the Afrikaans word for "marsh", while "sossus" is Nama for "no return" or "dead end". Sossusvlei owes this name to the fact that it is an endorheic drainage basin (i.e., a drainage basin without outflows) for the ephemeral Tsauchab River.

Qatar is a peninsula in the east of Arabia, bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia in a strategic location near major petroleum and natural gas deposits. The State of Qatar occupies 11,571 km (4,468 sq mi) on a peninsula that extends about 160 km (99 mi) north into the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula.

Varying in width between 55 and 90 km (34 and 56 mi), the land is mainly flat (the highest point is 103 m (338 ft)) and rocky. Notable features include coastal salt pans, elevated limestone formations (the Dukhan anticline) along the west coast under which lies the Dukhan oil field, and massive sand dunes surrounding Khor Al Adaid, an inlet of the Persian Gulf in the southeast known to local English speakers as the Inland Sea.

The Gulf of Tadjoura (Somali: Gacanka Tajuura; Arabic: خليج تجرة) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean in the Horn of Africa. It lies south of the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, or the entrance to the Red Sea, at 11°42′N 43°00′E / 11.7°N 43.0°E / 11.7; 43.0. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters. Most of its coastline is the territory of Djibouti, except for a short stretch on the southern shore, which is part of the territory of Somaliland.

The Gulf’s other marine habitats include sea grass beds, salt pans and mangroves.

Hamaxitus (Ancient Greek: Ἁμαξιτός, romanized: Hamaxitos) was an ancient Greek city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia which was considered to mark the boundary between the Troad and Aeolis. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek as Ἁμαξιτία (Hamaxitia), and included the temple of Apollo Smintheus, the salt pans at Tragasai, and the Satnioeis river (modern Tuzla Çay). It was probably an Aeolian colony.It has been located on a rise called Beşiktepe near the village of Gülpınar (previously Külahlı) in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale Province, Turkey.

A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed through geologic processes, where evaporating water leaves behind salt deposits. Some salt evaporation ponds are only slightly modified from their natural version, such as the ponds on Great Inagua in the Bahamas, or the ponds in Jasiira, a few kilometres south of Mogadishu, where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun.

During the process of salt winning, seawater or brine is fed into artificially created ponds from which water is drawn out by evaporation, allowing the salt to be subsequently harvested.