Which African country has the largest salt pan in Africa?

Botswana is home to Africa’s largest salt pan, the Makgadikgadi Pan system.

Makgadikgadi is not one perfectly uniform sheet of salt but a vast group of pans in northeastern Botswana. Its principal pans include Sua, Ntwetwe and Nxai. The largest individual pan is about 1,900 square miles, while the wider pan complex covers an enormous area of the Kalahari Basin.

The salt flats are remnants of ancient Lake Makgadikgadi, a much larger lake that dried up tens of thousands of years ago. During the dry season, the surface becomes a stark, salty desert. Seasonal rains can transform sections into shallow lakes and grasslands, attracting zebra, wildebeest and migratory birds.

The pan is also important for wildlife. Sua Pan supports one of southern Africa’s limited breeding populations of greater flamingos, and baobabs such as those on Kubu Island provide striking landmarks. A common confusion is with Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, often called the world’s largest salt flat; Makgadikgadi is the African landmark.