Why was Chaka Salt Lake formed?

The formation of salt lakes is mainly related to crustal movement.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was part of the ocean a long time ago. After long-term crustal movement, the ground was lifted up to form the highest plateau in the world. As a result, the seawater remained in some low-lying areas, forming many salt lakes and ponds. Chaka Salt Lake is one of them. There is an almost endless supply of salt within Chaka Lake, as rainwater brings more salt down from the surrounding mountains. Chaka Salt Lake can be said to be the plateau’s memory of the ocean.

Chaka Salt Lake was once an outflow lake, flowing eastward into the Tianhe Basin and into the Yellow River. The tectonic uplift that occurred around 100,000 to 130,000 years ago turned the Chaka Salt Lake into an inland lake. The area is smaller than Qinghai Lake and the annual rainfall is small, so the amount of water that can be injected here every year is very small. In addition, the evaporation here is very strong, so this salt lake with extremely high salt content can be formed.

Characteristics of Chaka Salt Lake

Chaka Salt Lake is a famous natural crystalline salt lake in Qaidam Basin. The water area of ??Chaka Salt Lake is greatly affected by the seasons. The lake area can reach 104 square kilometers in the rainy season, which is equivalent to more than ten times that of West Lake in Hangzhou. The lake area is significantly reduced in the dry season. There is a rock salt layer at the bottom of the salt lake, which is generally 5 meters thick and reaches 9.68 meters at its thickest point. Throughout the ages, Chaka Salt Lake has been famous for its rich production of "Da Qing Salt".

Preliminarily proven reserves amount to more than 440 million tons, which are said to be available for use by the people of the country for about 75 years. Chaka salt is very easy to mine. People only need to lift the salt cover of more than ten centimeters to get the natural crystallized salt from below. The mined brine recrystallizes into salt formations after a few years. With such a thick salt layer, it is definitely no problem for people to walk on it. Of course, you must pay attention to safety. Sometimes, you may step into the salt cave accidentally.

The above content refers to Baidu Encyclopedia-Chaka Salt Lake