Salt pans, Niger

Salt pans. Aerial photograph of man-made salt pans in the western Sahara desert. These shallow pools are filled with salt water from underground springs. The water is left to evaporate leaving a crust of salt that is then mixed with soil. The soil contains minerals and bacteria that enrich the salt and produce the various colours seen here. The mixture is then left to dry to allow the salt to crystallise. This enrichment process may be repeated several times. The final product is sold as an animal feed supplement. Photographed in Teguidda-n-Tessoumt, Niger, Africa.

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