9 Most Magical Natural Phenomena at Salar de Uyuni

2. Geometric Salt Hexagons

The salt flat shows one of nature's most amazing geometric beauty during the dry season: large fields of hexagonal salt tiles reaching to the horizon. Under the strong high-altitude sun, the mineral-rich water evaporates and a complicated process of crystallisation produces these natural formations. As the salt crystals expand and shrink with temperature, the hexagonal patterns—each with around one metre in diameter—form. Raised edges produced by this procedure surround every hexagon to produce a honeycomb-like structure covering the whole salt flat.

Advertisement

Because they offer important new perspectives on crystallisation processes and natural geometry, scientists have investigated these formations in great detail The hexagons show the mathematical ideas underlying natural events by their impressively homogeneous size and form. These patterns produce faint shadows that produce a three-dimensional effect during midday, when the sun is exactly overhead, giving the salt flat the impression of an alien landscape. These salt crystals have amazing strength that lets cars pass across the surface without destroying the beautiful designs.