Images related to Mineral Mining in China

Lake Sambhar
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Lake Sambhar

The wet and dry seasons bring two distinct but colorful looks to this wetland in the Thar Desert.

Published Jun 14, 2019

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Salt Lake Water Woes
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Salt Lake Water Woes

In October 2016, one of America’s largest lakes reached its lowest level on record.

Published Nov 3, 2016

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Effect of Drought on Great Salt Lake
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Effect of Drought on Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake serves as a striking visual marker for astronauts orbiting over North America. A sharp line across its center is caused by the restriction in water flow from the railroad causeway. The eye-catching colors of the lake stem from the fact that Great Salt Lake is hypersaline, typically 3–5 times saltier than the ocean, and the high salinities support sets of plants and animals that affect the light-absorbing qualities of the water. Space Station astronauts have recorded the decline in lake levels in response to a regional 5-year drought taking both detailed views and broad views of the entire lake. As lake levels have declined the salt works have become islands in the middle of a dry lakebed.

Published Jan 19, 2004

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Great Salt Lake, Oblique View
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Great Salt Lake, Oblique View

The lake and surrounding landscape are characterized by many flavors and mixtures of salt.

Published Feb 1, 2016

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Lake Natron, Tanzania
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Lake Natron, Tanzania

If Lake Natron, in Africa’s Great Rift Valley, had a color theme, it would be pink. The alkali salt crust on the surface of the lake is often colored red or pink by the salt-loving microorganisms that live there. Also, the lake is the only breeding area for the 2.5 million Lesser Flamingoes that live in the valley. These flamingoes flock along saline lakes in the region, where they feed on Spirulina, a blue-green algae with red pigments. This mosaic of photographs of the southern portion of Lake Natron shows the largest open lagoon area, and island mud flat, and a large area of pink salt crust. The colors show the actual colors viewed by the astronauts. Each time the lake is photographed, there are differences in the pattern of its salt crust, and the red colors of the blue-green algae and bacteria on the surface of the crust.

Published Apr 10, 2006

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Coloring the Great Salt Lake
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Coloring the Great Salt Lake

Colorful, mineral-rich salt flats are nestled between the Promontory Mountains and the Great Salt Lake.

Published Oct 4, 2020

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Algae in Great Salt Lake
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Algae in Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake of northern Utah is a remnant of glacial Lake Bonneville that extended over much of present-day western Utah and into the neighboring states of Nevada and Idaho approximately 32,000 to 14,000 years ago. The north arm of the lake, displayed in this astronaut photograph from April 30, 2007, typically has twice the salinity of the rest of the lake due to impoundment of water by a railroad causeway that crosses the lake from east to west. The causeway restricts water flow, and the separation has led to a striking division in the types of algae and bacteria found in the north and south arms of the lake.

Published Jul 16, 2007

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Lake Natron, Tanzania
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Lake Natron, Tanzania

Published May 3, 2005

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Brightening Lake Elton
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Brightening Lake Elton

Satellite data suggests this Russian salt lake is getting brighter due to the installation of check dams.

Published Dec 3, 2014

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Disappearing Walker Lake
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Disappearing Walker Lake

Like this lake in northwestern Nevada, many of the world’s prominent salt lakes are drying up.

Published Apr 4, 2018

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Lake Sambhar, India
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Lake Sambhar, India

Lake Sambhar, India’s largest salt lake, sits west of the Indian city of Jaipur (Rajasthan, NW India). On the eastern end, the lake is divided by a 5-kilometer long dam made of stone. East of the dam are salt evaporation ponds where salt has been farmed for a thousand years. This image, taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, shows Lake Sambhar’s eastern saltworks in detail. Today, they are operated by a joint venture between Hindustan Salts and the Government of Rajasthan. East of the dam is a railroad, built by the British before India’s independence, that provides access from Sambhar Lake City to the salt works.

Published Dec 13, 2004

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Lake Hazlett and Lake Willis
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Lake Hazlett and Lake Willis

Ephemeral salt lakes and their mineral deposits add color and texture to the arid Australian Outback.

Published Oct 30, 2017

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Barkol Lake, Xinjiang
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Barkol Lake, Xinjiang

The green-brown waters of Lake Barkol sit within the pale shorelines of an ancient lake, hinting that the climate was once much wetter in this part of western China.

Published Jun 21, 2014

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Lake Poopo Water Levels
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Lake Poopo Water Levels

Lake Poopó sits high in the Bolivian Andes, catching runoff from its larger neighbor to the north—Lake Titicaca (not shown)—by way of the Desaguadero River, which is the muddy area at the north end of the lake. Because Lake Poopó is very high in elevation (roughly 3,400 meters, or 11,000 feet above sea level), very shallow (generally less than 3 meters, or 9 feet), and the regional climate is very dry, small changes in precipitation in the surrounding basin have large impacts on the water levels and area of Lake Poopó. When the lake fills during wet periods, it drains from the south end into the Salar de Coipasa salt flat (not shown). Water levels in Lake Poopó are important because the lake is one of South America’s largest salt-water lakes, making it a prime stop for migratory birds, including flamingoes.

Published Apr 24, 2006

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A Tale of Contrasting Rift Valley Lakes
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A Tale of Contrasting Rift Valley Lakes

Long and short. Deep and shallow. Salty and fresh. Blue and brown. These are Africa’s Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa.

Published Jun 20, 2019

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Lake Dundas, Western Australia
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Lake Dundas, Western Australia

Western Australia’s Lake Dundas is a salt lake in a dry environment, but it once sat along a drainage channel with headwaters in Antarctica.

Published Jan 17, 2012

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