Talking about Chaka Salt Lake

Once I rode Erhai Lake and went to Erhai Lake to find the sky. Later, a young lady who was a tour guide went to Qinghai. In her photos, I saw different scenery, but unfortunately I didn't.

Between heaven and earth, walking in the clouds

Chaka salt lake in the sun. Figure/vision china

For hundreds of millions of years, the "big collision" of the earth's plate movement led to the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which prevented the water vapor in the Indian Ocean from moving northward and made the northwest region of China arid and barren.

Under such conditions, Qinghai was born with four magical places surrounded by high mountains: Qaidam Basin.

Qaidam basin. Figure/vision china

Located on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qaidam Basin is surrounded by three high mountains, namely Qilian Mountain, Altun Mountain and East Kunlun Mountain, and presents an irregular diamond shape, which is wide in the west and narrow in the east.

Qaidam basin is a barren and barren land with little rainfall and dry climate. However, under the influence of geology and climate, a "mirror of the sky"-salt lake belonging to China was bred.

This is because in hundreds of millions of years, the Qaidam Basin has changed from land to sea, and from sea to land. When the ocean becomes land, the original seawater gradually evaporates, forming many swamps and salt lakes.

Today, there are 33 salt lakes in Qaidam Basin. Because the salt in the salt lake can reflect light evenly and present a mirror-like scene, people generally describe it as "the mirror of the sky".

Dachaidan Lake is usually called "Emerald Lake". Figure/vision china

In order to win the top reputation of "Mirror of the Sky", there are two salt lakes in China-Chaka Salt Lake and Chaerhan Salt Lake.

Kaka salt lake

Chaka Salt Lake. Figure/vision china

Chaka Salt Lake, located in the easternmost part of Qaidam Basin, is the smallest of the four major salt lakes in Qaidam Basin (Chaka Salt Lake, Chaerhan Salt Lake, Mahai Salt Lake and Kunteyi Salt Lake), with a lake area of about 105 square kilometers.

Although the area is small, it has the best beauty on earth. Looking down from the air, Chaka Salt Lake looks like a crystal jade, which is in sharp contrast with the surrounding Gobi Desert.

On a calm sunny day, Chaka Salt Lake can show its unique beauty like a mirror-the lake reflects the perfect sky.

Chaka Salt Lake, the real "sea and sky are one color". Figure/vision china

The reason why Chaka Salt Lake can present such a scene is inseparable from its three characteristics-flat, white and smooth.

Flat means it is flat, and because the salt in Chaka Salt Lake is crystallized from saturated lake water with very uniform concentration, it can be laid flat at the bottom of the lake, with almost no height difference within several kilometers.

The flat terrain and paved salt particles make Chaka Salt Lake have the foundation to compete for the title of "Mirror of the Sky".

Only when it is flat to the extreme can the scenery be perfectly reflected. Figure/vision china

White refers to the white of salt. The crystals in Chaka Salt Lake are mostly sodium chloride, and the salt particles are bright white, which can reflect more sunlight and make the reflection effect brighter. The reflection in the lake is almost the same as that in the sky.

Smoothness means that the lake will not fluctuate. Because the water on the surface of Chaka Salt Lake is very shallow, only about 10 cm, there is no wave condition in such shallow water. Even if it is blown by the wind, its water disturbance will soon stop.

Because the water is shallow, people can stand on the lake and take pictures. Figure/vision china

Moreover, due to the large salt content and strong surface tension of the lake, it is very "thick" and the general wind is not so easy to disturb it. In this way, calmness and smoothness have created the third major feature of Chaka Salt Lake.

Flat, white and smooth, with the blessing of these three characteristics, Chaka Salt Lake seems to be a veritable "mirror of the sky".

It is also the blessing of the starry sky at night. Because the altitude here is very high, about 3000 meters, the atmosphere is thin, and there is little smoke and light pollution, so the scenery of Chaka Salt Lake is unique every night. The starry sky and the milky way correspond to the lake.

The ultimate beauty of the 360-degree starry sky in Chaka Salt Lake. Figure/vision china

However, Chaka Salt Lake is not perfect.

Chaka Salt Lake is located in continental arid climate zone, and the precipitation is greatly affected by seasons. In rainy summer, the lake surface of Chaka Salt Lake can reach 100 square kilometers. In the dry winter and spring season, the lake surface is obviously reduced, and some places may not be covered by surface lake water.

Chaka Salt Lake in dry season is a kind of beauty. Figure/vision china

But in winter, Chaka Salt Lake, because the surface is bare, the crystals of rock layers emerge, which may be more like a white snow field than a "mirror of the sky" and have a special flavor.

In winter, the pure white scenery of Chaka Salt Lake has a unique flavor. Figure/vision china

Even in the rainy season with abundant precipitation, it is not easy to witness the most beautiful moment of Chaka Salt Lake. Rainy day itself is gray. With the decline of reflectivity, Chaka Salt Lake in rainy day seems to be eclipsed, just like dry season.

The biggest problem is that Chaka Salt Lake is too famous. With the growing fame, more and more tourists come to the scenic spot every year, especially in the summer peak season, which may be more than the reflected world, clouds and mountains. ...

Chaerhan salt lake

Chaerhan Salt Lake. Figure/vision china

Chaerhan Salt Lake, located in the south of Qaidam Basin, is the largest salt lake in China and the second largest in the world, with an area of about 5,856 square kilometers and more than 50 Chaka Salt Lakes, equivalent to the size of three Shenzhen cities.

The biggest feature of Chaerhan Salt Lake is its huge salt reserves, which is equivalent to building a salt bridge with a width of 6 meters and a thickness of 3 meters between the earth and the moon. Therefore, it is also the most valuable lake in the world, with a potential value exceeding 12 trillion yuan.

Chaerhan Salt Lake is endless. Figure/vision china

Such treasures, in ancient legends, are also related to gold and silver treasures. Legend has it that a long time ago, Chaerhan was a place of priceless treasures, with mountains of gold, silver and jewels, which attracted many immortals and demons to compete, followed by terrible wars and disasters, and the local people fell into dire straits. The Queen Mother of the Immortal Goddess was furious when she learned of this incident, and ordered the water god to send water to Chaerhan. Since then, all the treasures have been buried under the water.

Chaerhan Salt Lake is indeed a "treasure house", with 42.62 billion tons of sodium chloride, which can be eaten by people all over the world for 2000 years.

Obviously, the large area and high value can't help Chaerhan Salt Lake to compete for the title of "Mirror of the Sky". So, how beautiful is Chaerhan Salt Lake?

First of all, the colors and levels here are extremely rich. Compared with the transparent and pure Chaka Salt Lake, Chaerhan Salt Lake seems to be covered with thick pigments. In different seasons and times, green, yellow, blue and white alternate with each other, putting layers of psychedelic veil on Chaerhan Salt Lake.

The unique color level of Chaerhan Salt Lake. Figure/vision china

Just like this, Chaerhan Salt Lake is not as pure and smooth as Chaka Salt Lake, but more plump and dreamy than Chaka Salt Lake.

Although the color is rich, the water in some areas of Chaerhan Salt Lake can still be as pure as a mirror.

Chaerhan Salt Lake can also be purified. Figure/vision china

At the same time, because of the high salinity in the lake, plants can't survive here, but they have bred a crystal-clear salt flower wonder, which is decorated with exquisite decorations as colorful as a fairyland.

Salt flower refers to the beautiful crystal formed when salt crystallizes. During the crystallization process of brine, due to different concentrations, different durations and different compositions, all kinds of salt flowers are formed, just like white corals.

Salt flowers like white corals. Figure/vision china

Compared with Chaka Salt Lake, Chaerhan Salt Lake is not so flat, so it can't present a beautiful reflection spectacle in some areas. However, there are also unique views. The whole lake seems to be a terrace made of water, layer after layer, wave after wave.

Chaerhan Salt Lake is like a terraced field made of water, with overlapping mountains. Figure/vision china

Another major feature of Chaerhan Salt Lake is that it is less disturbed, because it is not as famous as Chaka Salt Lake. This vast and quiet lake in the corner of Qinghai is emitting its mysterious charm.

From this point of view, Chaka Salt Lake seems to be more worthy of the name of the mirror of the sky, while Chaerhan Salt Lake should be called the "mirror of dreams".

Chaerhan Salt Lake in autumn is a veritable mirror of dreams. Figure/vision china

Uyuni salt marsh

Uyuni salt marsh. Figure/vision china

Yes, the two "immortal" salt lakes in China are breathtaking and are beautiful landscapes that everyone should punch in. Abroad, there is also a "mirror of the sky"-Uyuni salt marsh, which is different from Chaerhan Salt Lake and Chaka Salt Lake.

Uyuni Salt Marsh is a combination of Chaka Salt Lake and Chaerhan Salt Lake. It has both the vastness of Chaerhan Salt Lake and the purity of Chaka Salt Lake.

The vastness and purity of Uyuni salt marsh. Figure/vision china

Uyuni salt marsh is located in the central plateau of South America, the center of the inland river basin in southwest Bolivia, which is very similar to the salt lake gathering place in China and belongs to a desolate zone.

Uyuni Salt Marsh covers an area of about 654.38+00000 square kilometers, almost twice that of Chaerhan Salt Lake, the largest salt lake in China. Such a vast salt marsh, like Chaka Salt Lake, uyuni is extremely flat, with almost no ups and downs, and it is a vast pure white plane.

It is more than 3700 meters above sea level and surrounded by snow-covered volcanoes, which makes it more flat and open. Because it is dozens of times larger than Chaka Salt Lake, if you stand in the center here and look around, the 360-degree view is only pure blue and white, and the water and sky are the same, as if you were in a strange world.

At night, the Uyuni salt marsh, the vast sea of stars is endless. Figure/vision china

Although the salt concentration in Uyuni salt marsh is high, it is not a forbidden area for life. Artemia live in some salt lakes. Because Artemia is a delicious meal for flamingos, you can often see flamingos standing in the salt lake, which is a wonderful scene of pink and blue.

Salt lake is a special existence in the lake. In addition to its beauty, it also contains a lot of salt resources, as well as mineral, biological and water resources, which are priceless to human beings.

Just as human beings can't live without edible salt, the earth can't live without salt lake, because salt lake deposits occupy a considerable area of the earth's land surface, and there are a lot of carbonate deposits, which can delay the greenhouse effect related to human beings to some extent.

The epidemic is over. Let's punch in at Salt Lake.

The article comes from chinese national geography's book

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