The red and green colors of the salt ponds in South San Francisco Bay are brilliant visual markers for astronauts. The STS-111 crew photographed the bay south of the San Mateo bridge in June, 2002.
Published Jul 21, 2002
Colorful, mineral-rich salt flats are nestled between the Promontory Mountains and the Great Salt Lake.
Published Oct 4, 2020
The west-central state of Gujarat accounts for nearly three-quarters of India’s annual salt production.
Published Oct 21, 2019
The salt produced from tidal marshes in southern France is the product of ideal climate conditions and careful management.
Published Apr 4, 2019
In this active tectonic environment, salt squeezes through faults in the rock until it reaches the surface and flows like a glacier.
Published Oct 25, 2015
This detailed astronaut photograph shows the salt ponds of one of Africa’s major producers of soda ash (sodium carbonate) and salt. Soda ash is used for making glass, in metallurgy, in the detergent industry, and in chemical manufacture. The image shows a small part of the great salt flats of central Botswana known as the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.
Published May 13, 2007
Despite the bay’s calm waters, constant reminders of the city break through.
Published Oct 5, 2017
The rocks of Dasht-e Kavir tell tales of a much wetter environment millions of years ago.
Published Feb 17, 2013
Southeastern Iran is home to numerous salt domes and salt glaciers, which have been built over time by the movement of Earth’s crust.
Published Nov 13, 2017
Lake Eyre did something in 2011 that it doesn’t do very often: it took on new water.
Published Dec 19, 2011
One of the largest salt pans in the world spreads across northern Botswana, offering critical seasonal oases for mammals and birds.
Published Jul 7, 2018
Wild patterns on the water's surface are evidence of the fluid dynamics that occur when fresh river water meets sea water.
Published Aug 20, 2018
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took this photograph of the San Francisco Bay area in April, 2002. The gray urban footprint of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and their surrounding suburbs contrast strongly with the green hillsides. Of particular note are the Pacific Ocean water patterns that are highlighted in the sun glint. Sets of internal waves traveling east impinge on the coastline south of San Francisco. At the same time, fresher bay water flows out from the bay beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, creating a large plume traveling westward. Tidal current channels suggest the tidal flow deep in thebay. Because the ISS orbits are not synchronous with the sun, astronauts view the Earth with variable solar illumination angles. This allows them to document phenomena such as the sun reflecting differentially off surface waters in a way that outlines complicated water structures.
Published May 26, 2002
