What’s that bright blue speck of water in the middle of Utah’s desert? The potash evaporation ponds may look bizarre, but they have a very specific purpose.
A brilliant blue series of serviceman - made ponds punctuates Utah ’s blood-red - browned desert landscape , adding a touch of the bizarre to an otherwise destitute area . bang as the potash evaporation ponds , these bodies of water are n’t for swim — they are really used to isolate a specific type of saltiness that contains atomic number 19 .
Utah ’s caustic potash evaporation pool were create to reap potash – a word which report an raiment of potassium - take salts – which is then dispense for use around the county .
Getting its name from the Dutch wordpotaschen — meaning “ crapper ashes”—the substance is used in a diverseness of vernacular goods such as fertilizer and soap .
Source : Dave and Val ’s Travel Blog
Source : National Geographic
To harvest the potash , miner first pump brackish weewee from the nearby Colorado river into an hush-hush mine . The salty water dissolves the potash — which is sink about 3,000 invertebrate foot below ground — but leaves other minerals in the area mostly undisturbed . The potash - infused pee is then sent to the evaporation ponds .
Source : Wikipedia
Source : Tom Till
Source : Red Rock Adventures
piddle in the potash evaporation ponds is dye a deepblue colorthat allow the ponds to ingest more heat from the sun . As the vapor outgrowth takes place , the ponds change color . Despite this add up feature of speech , it still takes almost a twelvemonth — well , 300 - ish days to be exact — for the brine to become salt and caustic potash crystal .
Solar ponds like the caustic potash evaporation pond subsist all over the globe . They can be used for a variety of aim , let in solar power generation , desalination , cognitive process heating , and more . Check out the world ’s most colorful ponds below :
Salina Santa Maria Salt Evaporation Ponds in Spain .
Source:Dave and Val’s Travel Blog
Salt dehydration ponds in the San Francisco Bay . Source : Amusing major planet
The Lop Nur Potash Solar Ponds in China .
Solar evaporation ponds in the Atacama Desert in Chile . rootage : Earth Observatory
Source:National Geographic
Source:Wikipedia
Source:Tom Till
Source:Red Rock Adventures
Salina Santa Maria Salt Evaporation Ponds in Spain.
Salt evaporation ponds in the San Francisco Bay. Source:Amusing Planet
The Lop Nur Potash Solar Ponds in China.
Solar evaporation ponds in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Source:Earth Observatory
