乌尤尼盐沼上的锥形盐堆，玻利维亚 Salt cones on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia (© John Shaw/Minden Pictures)

乌尤尼盐沼上的锥形盐堆，玻利维亚 Salt cones on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia (© John Shaw/Minden Pictures)

Salt of the earth

This shimmering white expanse could easily be mistaken for Antarctica. But what we're looking at isn't snow and ice—it's a surreal landscape of endless salt high in the Andes of southwest Bolivia. Located at a lofty altitude of about 12,000 feet above sea level, Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat (or salt pan), spanning just over 4,000 square miles. It was formed when prehistoric lakes dried up over centuries, leaving behind a desert of bright white salt that can be seen from space. During the rainy season (December to April), a thin layer of water covering the salt transforms the area into a giant mirror that reflects the beautiful Bolivian skies. If you're driving across the surface at such times, it can appear as though you are navigating through a highway of clouds.

Salar de Uyuni contains more than just a pinch of salt; there's an estimated 11 billion tons of it here, with about 25,000 tons extracted annually. Local salt gatherers—'saleros'—scoop the raw mineral into mounds to let it dry under the sun before it's transported to the nearby village of Colchani, where it's processed and turned into table salt, which is then sold in Bolivia and other countries. But the real treasure is buried beneath the salt crust: Just below the crystalline surface lies the world's largest untapped lithium reserve that could one day power the batteries in our smartphones, laptops, and electric cars.

盐的世界

这片闪闪发光的白色区域很容易被误认为是南极洲。但我们所看到的不是冰雪，而是玻利维亚西南部安第斯山脉的一片超现实的盐碱地。乌尤尼盐湖位于海拔约12000英尺的高空，是世界上最大的盐滩（或盐田），占地面积仅4000多平方英里。它是在史前湖泊干涸几个世纪后形成的，留下了一片从太空可以看到的亮白色盐沙漠。在雨季（12月至4月），覆盖在盐层上的一层薄薄的水将该地区变成一面巨大的镜子，反射玻利维亚美丽的天空。如果您在这样的时间驾驶车辆穿越地表，它可能看起来就像您正在穿越一条云层高速公路。

乌尤尼沙拉不仅仅含有一撮盐；这里估计有110亿吨石油，每年开采约25000吨。当地的盐业采集者“saleros”用铲子将未加工的矿物铲成土堆，在阳光下晾干，然后将其运到附近的科尔查尼村，在那里加工成食盐，然后在玻利维亚和其他国家出售。但真正的宝藏埋藏在盐壳之下：就在水晶表面之下，有世界上最大的尚未开发的锂储量，有朝一日可以为我们的智能手机、笔记本电脑和电动汽车的电池供电。