Which country is home to the world's largest salt flat?

Which country is home to the world’s largest salt flat? Bolivia is home to Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat on Earth. It covers approximately 10,582 square kilometres in southwestern Bolivia’s Altiplano, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of about 3,656 metres.

Salar de Uyuni formed when enormous prehistoric lakes gradually dried, leaving behind thick deposits of salt and other evaporite minerals. The surface is an exceptionally level salt crust, while brine beneath it contains lithium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Bolivia’s salar is therefore both a spectacular landscape and an important mineral resource.

During the rainy season, a thin film of water can spread across the crust and create a huge natural mirror that reflects the sky. The salar’s vast, bright, unusually flat surface also makes it valuable for calibrating Earth-observing satellites. It is sometimes confused with Chile’s Salar de Atacama, but that salt flat is smaller.