The Lop Nur Potash Ponds are located in the Taklamakan Desert of northern China. Built and expanded over the last 20 years, the ponds occupy the basin of a dried up salt lake that once spanned 3,900 square miles (10,000 sq. km) and left behind salt crusts as thick as 39 inches (100 cm). The variety of color seen here illustrates the stages of production — water is first dyed blue to absorb more sunlight and heat, and it gradually fades in color as it evaporates and potash crystallizes, ready for extraction.
40.417972°, 90.795250°
Source imagery: NASA / Google Timelapse / Planet
Share this post