Salt lake

For other uses, see Salt Lake (Disambiguation).

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy who is photographing Earth from the International Space Station, taken May 22, 2015 (2 salt lakes are visible, Bakhtegan and Maharloo near Shiraz, Iran)

A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes. An alkalic salt lake that has a high content of carbonate is sometimes termed a soda lake.

Saline lake classification:

subsaline 0.5–3 ‰

hyposaline 3–20 ‰

mesosaline 20–50 ‰

hypersaline greater than 50 ‰

Properties

Salt lakes form when the water flowing into the lake, containing salt or minerals, cannot leave because the lake is endorheic (terminal). The water then evaporates, leaving behind any dissolved salts and thus increasing its salinity, making a salt lake an excellent place for salt production. High salinity will also lead to a unique halophilic flora and fauna in the lake in question; sometimes, in fact, the result may be an absence or near absence of life near the salt lake.

If the amount of water flowing into a lake is less than the amount evaporated, the lake will eventually disappear and leave a dry lake (also called playa or salt flat).

See also

• Bakhtegan Lake
• Maharloo Lake
• Caspian Sea
• Great Salt Lake
• Dead Sea
• Aral Sea
• Salton Sea
• Lake Urmia
• Lake Natron
• Mono Lake
• Sawa lake
• Little Manitou Lake (Saskatchewan)