Salar de Uyuni comprises over 10,000km² in the Potosi region. The salt is over 10 meters thick in the centre. In the dry season, the salt plains are a completely flat expanse of dry salt, but in the wet season, it is covered with a thin sheet of water that is still drivable.The standard tour heads south toward the southwest corner of Bolivia, by many fluorescent-coloured lakes that are created from a collection of different minerals from runoff from the surrounding mountains.
During the rainy season, most of the enormous salt flat is covered by shallow water, as rain has nowhere to drain. These few inches of water have a dazzling effect on the landscape, transforming the plane into one endless mirror that reflects the sun, sky, clouds, visitors and the indigenous pink flamingos that heavily populate the area.The region is 11,995 feet above sea level, making it an optimal spot to monitor and calibrate satellites. The incredible clouds often break to clear skies, with blue and white reflected below. Salar de Uyuni sees a lot of traffic ranging from from tourists to companies coming to mine the layers of salt, potassium, lithium and magnesium from the surface. It is also a major car transport route during the dry seasons.
