Salt lake of Coipasa - Bolivia

The picture shows people in the ‘Salar de Coipasa´ in Bolivia, which, at over 10,000 square kilometres, is the largest salt flat on Earth. In the foreground is a small makeshift hut – or rather an igloo – made of salt bricks, in front of which people are standing. In the background, the Andean volcanoes (such as the well-known Tunupa volcano) can be seen, surrounding the flat, white salt pan. – Bolivia – 1976

Workers engaged in traditional salt extraction on the bright salt crust of the Salar de Coipasa. They break off and stack blocks of salt from the crust using simple tools such as poles and shovels. Historically, these blocks were used as a durable building material for the famous salt hotels and other accommodation, as well as salt licks for livestock (llamas and alpacas). The people are wearing warm, protective clothing and hats, as the climate at these high altitudes is windy and cool. – Bolivia – 1976

The two large salt pans of the Bolivian Altiplano, the Salares of Coipasa (picture) and Uyuni, are the remnants of a vast Ice Age freshwater lake, Lago Minchin. Due to low rainfall, the absence of tributaries and the extreme dryness of the air, the former freshwater lakes have evaporated into shallow lagoons and salt pans, their shores lined with deposits of common salt. Cut into blocks, the snow-white salt – considered to be of exceptional purity – is transported by lorry to the areas where it is consumed. - Book: Picture 158 - Bolivia - 1976

Traditional salt mining in the Salar de Coipasa in the Bolivian Andean highlands. Workers use simple tools such as axes or poles to chisel solid blocks of salt from the crust. The scene is set against the glistening white salt crust, with a mountainous backdrop in the Altiplano at an altitude of around 3,600 to 3,800 metres. – Bolivia – 1976

The Río Lauca is an international river in the Andean highlands, some 225 kilometres long, which eventually flows into the Salar de Coipasa, Bolivia’s second-largest salt lake. The river is the lifeblood of the highlands’ extremely arid ecosystem. – Ice has formed on the river overnight, which melts again during the morning. – Near the Salar de Coipasa – Bolivia – 1976

A herd of llamas grazes by the shallow, mineral-rich waterholes on the edge of the Salar de Coipasa. During the rainy season, parts of this arid landscape are transformed into vast, mirror-like expanses of water. – Bolivia – 1976

A herd of llamas is moving near the little village of Villa Vitalina on the edge of the Salar de Coipasa. Houses can be seen in the background. – Bolivia – 1976

A small village, presumably on the edge of the Salar de Coipaso. – Bolivia – 1976

The two large salt flats of the Bolivian Altiplano, the Salares of Coipasa (pictured) and Uyuni, are the remnants of a vast Ice Age freshwater lake, Lago Minchin. Due to low rainfall, the absence of tributaries and the extreme dryness of the air, the former freshwater lakes have evaporated into shallow lagoons and salt flats, their shores lined with deposits of common salt. Cut into blocks, the snow-white salt – considered to be of exceptional purity – is transported by lorry to the areas where it is used. - Book: Picture 159 - Chile - 1976

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