What is the largest salt pan in Africa?

The largest salt pan in Africa is the Makgadikgadi Pan complex in northeastern Botswana. It is not a single unbroken sheet of salt, but a broad group of pans covering roughly 6,200 square miles, or about 16,000 square kilometres.

The complex is the remnant of ancient Lake Makgadikgadi, a huge inland lake that occupied the Kalahari Basin before changing climate and altered drainage caused it to shrink and disappear. Its principal pans include Ntwetwe, Sua, and Nxai, separated by sandy ridges and dry savanna.

For much of the year, the surface appears as a white, cracked salt and clay crust. Seasonal rains can transform parts of it into shallow wetlands, attracting flamingos, wildebeest, zebra, and other wildlife. The Nata River and water from the Okavango system help feed the pans during wetter periods.

The main confusion is with Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, generally regarded as the world’s largest continuous salt flat. Makgadikgadi is Africa’s great salt-pan system, while its individual pans are smaller than Uyuni.