Salt Flats Formation, Activity, and Examples

Salt flats, also called salt pans, are large and flat areas of land that were once lake beds. Salt flats are covered with salt and other minerals and they oftentimes look white because of the salt presence. These areas of land generally form in deserts and other arid places where large bodies of water have dried up over thousands of years and the salt and other minerals are the remnants. There are salt flats found around the world but some of the largest examples include the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the Bonneville Salt Flats in the state of Utah and those found in California’s Death Valley National Park.   Formation of Salt Flats   According to the United States’ National Park Service, there are three basic things that are needed for salt flats to form. These are a source of salts, an enclosed drainage basin so the salts do not wash out and an arid climate where evaporation is greater than precipitation so the salts can get left behind when the water dries up (National Park Service).   An arid climate is the most important component of salt flat formation. In arid places, rivers with large, meandering stream networks are rare because of a lack of water. As a result, many lakes, if they exist at all, do not have natural outlets such as streams. Enclosed drainage basins are important because they hinder the formation of water outlets. In the western United States, for instance, there is the basin and range region in the states of Nevada and Utah. The topography of these basins consist of deep, flat bowls where the drainage is enclosed because water draining out of the region cannot climb up the mountain ranges surrounding the basins (Alden). Finally, the arid climate comes into play because evaporation must exceed precipitation in the water in the basins for the salt flats to eventually form. In addition to enclosed drainage basins and arid climates, there must also be an actual presence of salt and other minerals in the lakes for salt flats to form. All water bodies contain a variety of dissolved minerals and as lakes dry up through thousands of years of evaporation the minerals become solids and are dropped where the lakes once were. Calcite and gypsum are among some of the minerals found in water but salts, mostly halite, are found in large concentrations in some bodies of water (Alden). It is in places where halite and other salts are found in abundance that salt flats eventually form.   Salt Flat Examples   Salar de Uyuni Large salt flats are found around the world in places such as the United States, South America, and Africa. The largest salt flat in the world is the Salar de Uyuni, located in the Potosi and Oruro, Bolivia. It covers 4,086 square miles (10,852 sq km) and is located at an elevation of 11,995 feet (3,656 m). The Salar de Uyuni is a part of the Altiplano plateau that formed as the Andes Mountains were uplifted. The plateau is home to many lakes and the salt flats formed after several prehistoric lakes evaporated over thousands of years. Scientists believe that the area was an extremely large lake called Lake Minchin around 30,000 to 42,000 years ago (Wikipedia.org). As Lake Minchin began to dry up due to a lack of precipitation and no outlet (the region is surrounded by the Andes Mountains) it became a series of smaller lakes and dry areas. Eventually, the Poopà ³ and Uru Uru lakes and the Salar de Uyuni and Salar de Coipasa salt flats were all that remained. The Salar de Uyuni is significant not only because of its very large size but also because it is a large breeding ground for pink flamingoes, it serves as a transportation route across the Altiplano and it is a rich area for the mining of valuable minerals such as sodium, potassium, lithium and magnesium.   Bonneville Salt Flats   The Bonneville Salt Flats are located in the U.S. state of Utah between the border with Nevada and the Great Salt Lake. They cover about 45 square miles (116.5 sq km) and are managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and a Special Recreation Management Area (Bureau of Land Management). They are part of the United States’ Basin and Range system.   The Bonneville Salt Flats are a remnant of the very large Lake Bonneville that existed in the area about 17,000 years ago. At its peak, the lake was 1,000 feet (304 m) deep. According to the Bureau of Land Management, evidence for the lake’s depth can be seen on the surrounding Silver Island Mountains. The salt flats began to form as precipitation decreased with a changing climate and the water in Lake Bonneville began to evaporate and recede. As the water evaporated, minerals such as potash and halite were deposited on the remaining soils. Eventually, these minerals built up and were compacted to form a hard, flat, and salty surface. Today the Bonneville Salt Flats are about 5 feet (1.5 m) thick at their center and just are just a few inches thick at the edges. The Bonneville Salt Flats are about 90% salt and consists of about 147 million tons of salt (Bureau of Land Management).   Death Valley The Badwater Basin salt flats located in California’s Death Valley National Park cover about 200 square miles (518 sq km). It is believed that the salt flats are the remnants of the ancient Lake Manly that filled Death Valley about 10,000 to 11,000 years ago as well as more active weather processes today. The main sources of Badwater Basin’s salt are what was evaporated from that lake but also from Death Valley’s nearly 9,000-square mile (23,310 sq km) drainage system that extends to the peaks surrounding the basin (National Park Service). During the wet season precipitation falls on these mountains and then runs off into the very low elevation Death Valley (Badwater Basin is, in fact, the lowest point in North America at -282 feet (-86 m)). In wet years, temporary lakes form and during the very hot, dry summers this water evaporates and minerals such as sodium chloride are left behind. After thousands of years, a salt crust has formed, creating salt flats.   Activities on Salt Flats   Because of the large presence of salts and other minerals, salt flats are often places that are mined for their resources. In addition, there are many other human activities and development that have taken place on them because of their very large, flat nature. The Bonneville Salt Flats, for example, are home to land speed records, while the Salar de Uyuni is an ideal place for calibrating satellites. Their flat nature also makes them good travel routes and Interstate 80 runs through a portion of the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Relationships and the Importance of Communication

The value of effective communication SaskBusiness 29.2 (March 2008): p.29(1). (822 words) From General OneFile. Walking on eggshells: How expressing relationship insecurities perpetuates them. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 95(2), Aug 2008. pp. 420-441 Thesis Statement: The success of any relationship relies on ones ability to communicate well. Communication is important in relationships as it allows us to share our interest, concerns, support each other; organize our lives and make decisions; and it allows us to work together. Effective communication is based on the way we talk and listen, and how we respond and our body language. We can all learn how to improve the way we communicate It takes more than words to†¦show more content†¦1. Speak a little less, listen a little more Most people receive pleasure from speaking about themselves. But, here we have to be careful; if we always speak about our achievements, trials or tribulations, people will not find an interest in talking to us. If we are willing and able to listen to others, we will find it much appreciated by our friends. Some people are not aware of how much they try to take control of the conversation. 2. The importance of maintaining harmony? A lot of problems in relationships occur because we want to maintain our personal pride. Don’t insist on always having the last word. Healthy relationships are not built through winning an argument. Pulling away from the argument will help to see what is important or not so important in the conversation. 3. Avoiding Gossip Avoid commenting on your friendship failures or their weakness, more then likely your friends, family etc. will eventually hear about it. Most importantly we weaken our relationships when we dwell on all the negative qualities. Avoid gossiping about anybody. 4. Forgiveness Forgiveness is a powerful and important factor in maintaining healthy relationships. However, real forgiveness also means that we are willing to forget things of the past and decide to move forward. If we forgive one day, but then a few weeks later bring up the past, then that isn’t genuine forgiveness. 5. Know When toShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Using Communication And Relationships1247 Words   |  5 Pagesarticle talked about the importance of using communication and relationships to find belonging. All of us want to find where we belong in this world and find others that can relate to us. We also use this kind of interaction almost daily since we are constantly surrounded by other people. The authors of this article believed in a theory that they called the Need to Belong Theory. 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Hinduism Samsara Free Essays

Samsara is a Sanskrit word meaning the endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth that is considered to be experienced by all humans in the Upanishads and in Buddhism. It is the repeated passingof souls through different worlds. Thus, Samsara is commonly known as â€Å"the wheel of life† in Hinduism. We will write a custom essay sample on Hinduism: Samsara or any similar topic only for you Order Now Also, Samsara refers to the general, day-to-day struggles and obstacles man experiences throughout life. Samsara exists in many religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Vaishnavism, and other related religions. According to these religions, one has a karmic â€Å"account balance† when he or she reaches death that will determine one’s destiny when a person is reborn. In Hinduism, ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world comes from ignorance of one’s true self. This means that through egoism and personal desire, people are creating the basis for their next life or â€Å"future becoming†. The path of Samsara can only be overcome by attaining a sense of selflessness and having one’s soul (atman) follow its own version of Samsara†¦repeatedly reincarnating. Samsara is a very interesting concept to me and I am fascinated by the stories I’ve heard from Buddhist friends of mine. I’ve enjoyed the company of my Buddhist friend,Betty, because I’ve learned so much from her as we both have shared our religions with each other†¦ me being muslim and her being Buddhist. Our religions are completely different from one another so I was very curious to know what she believes and how reincarnation and Samsara play a role in her life. I’ve known Betty for over five years and I never thought of her to be a very religious person because she did not throw her religion at people or talk about it all the time. I ended up finding out that she prayed on a daily basis and she was very strong in her religion as a Buddhist. She was always very relaxed and positive, but the best thing about her is how she naturally helped others with no expectation of anything in return. She is so giving and selfless, and it is very humbling to see the things she does for others. She never tries to convert others when religion is brought up like most people do. She is absolutely beautiful as well, and she has very high morals and values that she lives by. She is just a great person and I would always think back at our friendship and appreciate her so much because she is one of my only friends that has not wronged me. One day Bettytold me that the first time she saw her Buddhist monk she felt like she knew him, but could never figure out where from. He was drawn to her and was very interested in her life. She was flattered by this, but she did not understand why he took such major interest in her. After months of talking, she still could not tell where she knew his familiar face from. As her story went on, I found out that the Buddhist monk finally told her why he was so interested in her personality and the way she lived he life. He told her that she was an angel in the past life that had helped him in a life crisis situation. I was shocked, but at the same time, it made sense considering how great of a person she was and all the beautiful things she did for others. How to cite Hinduism: Samsara, Papers