Let your eyes adjust to the dazzling bright white and you’ll begin to notice the veins or hexagonal-like formations that spread out across the pan. The most famous flats in San Ignacio, the Salinas, are on the south side of the lagoon, brilliant white in colour and nestled against the distant mesas. Over thousands of years, the salt minerals accumulate on the surface and form what can only be described as a ‘salty ice rink’. As a result, water cannot drain into the ground and so remains until it evaporates. Salt flats occur when bodies of water appear in desert climates, where the rate of evaporation exceeds the rate of precipitation. Salt flats are expanses of land covered in salt and other minerals, that gleam white under the sun. I am very glad of the opportunity to walk out into the flats under the desert sun and absorb the absolute stillness and beauty of it. The place felt like it was teeming with life and a wonderful calm energy. Last time I was there, we were greeted by three coyotes and flocks of birds, including herons, ospreys, and beautiful white egrets. The salt turns to white several miles away. The white sand beach and small dunes are as soft as talcum powder, and in my favourite location, are bounded by mangroves on one side, a 20-metre band of green vegetation and then light-coloured taupe salt flats as far as you can see, all the way to the steep sided mesas. The north side of the lagoon is my favourite place to go ashore. The flats are huge, perfectly flat and extend for miles and miles. Some are more of a taupe or cream colour. Many of the flats are light brown in colour. Nestled under a towering mountain range, the Salina el Cuarenta salt flats appear to be in the wrong biosphere. Mike Lever, President of Nautilus Dive Adventures, shares why this glistening oasis is not to be missed… Salt Flats of Mexico: Salina El Cuarenta Minerals leach down from the surrounding mesas, which, combined with the evaporation of water from high tides and rare rainfall, aided by warm desert winds, means the water doesn’t really drain but evaporates, thus creating the salt flats. Located in the far northern reaches of pacific coast of Baja California, the lagoon provides the perfect environment for salt flats. There is a beautiful vista of salt flats extending in all directions and very visible when flying into our airstrip at San Ignacio Lagoon.
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