The strange beauty of the salt mines

• The strange beauty of the salt mines

Salt - an essential element for all living beings. This food product is present in abundance on Earth. The process of extraction of salt forms beautiful scenery, deep caves, colorful containers and different geometries. Some of these places have become tourist attractions, resorts, and even concert halls.

State of Cundinamarca, Colombia, 22 November 2012. 80 meter salt mine with over 500 years of history has become a new tourist destination in Colombia.

Salar de Atacama - the second largest salt marsh in the world, located in the southern part of the Atacama Desert in the territory of Chile. According to the US Geological Survey under Salar de Atacama contained 27% of the world reserves of lithium - element, which is an essential component in the production of batteries and medicines.

Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland) - this is the only mining site in the world, operating continuously since the Middle Ages to the present. Since 1978 the salt mine on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The former Asse salt mine in Germany. It is now used as a storage facility for radioactive waste, June 24, 2009.

The salt pools in Cusco, Peru.

Some of the 3000 salt pools have been built before the Incas. Cusco, Peru, February 17, 2010.

One of the famous sights of Romania is considered a salt cave, located in Pride. This is one of the largest salt mines in Europe. Located 350 km north of Bucharest. Cave comprises ionized air, and is carried out herein therapy for respiratory diseases. The photo was taken March 4, 2013.

The salt layers. Made in the XIII century, Turda Salt Mine - the oldest in Romania. In the hall you can see Teresa famous waterfall of salt on the north wall - is an indescribable spectacle!

This is also a salt mine Turda. There's even a small marina with a yellow boat.

An aerial view of the salt field on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia, 22 November 2012. The photo can be seen the village houses Palibelo.

In the middle of the desert in Ethiopia is the lowest land volcano on the planet - Dallol, the apex of which is located at an altitude of 48 meters below sea level. As a result of geysers appear here salt cones and sulfur bubbles.

People collect salt blocks. Danakil Desert is a depression in the north of Ethiopia and in south-western Eritrea. It contains a quarter of the active volcanoes of Africa.

The following frozen salt and lava desert Danakil (Ethiopia) have unusual bright colors that makes this landscape unique.

About 50 athletes participated in the race on the bike at a depth of 800 meters in the former salt mine Sondershausen, Germany, November 17, 2007.

Salt waterfall in a salt mine in the town of Nemokon. This cave is one of the most popular attractions in Columbia.

salt crystal in the form of heart. Salt Mine in Nemokon, Colombia.

Donbass symphony orchestra concert in Soligorsk, Belarus, on October 2, 2004. He was held in the hall of the salt mine, which is located at a depth of 300 meters and having dimensions of 120 meters in length and 30 meters in height. This hall has excellent acoustics.

salt production factory in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 24, 2007.

The pits dug salt collectors and colored filled with mineral water. Women collect the salt by hand in 50-kg bags and sell them for about $ 2. The location is on the border between the Gambia and Senegal.

Salt caves in Polkowice, Poland, July 29, 2011.

The salt sculptures in the salt mine in Wieliczka, Poland. Salt mine in Wieliczka was formed about 15 million years ago and belongs to the Miocene formation. It is a strip length of 10 km and a width of 0.5 to 1.5 km runs east to west along the northern border Carpathians.

Salt marshes in Saint-Louis (10 km south of Senegal). About 3 000 people, mostly women, spend long hours under the blinding sun, collecting salt and earning about $ 1-2 per day.

The salt expanses in Port Hedland, which is located in the north-west of Western Australia, 26 May 2008.

Underground Lake Wessel in the salt mine of Wieliczka, July 10, 2007.

Portrait of a worker. Khewra Salt Mines are located in the same city district of Punjab in Pakistan, about 160 kilometers from Islamabad. They attract up to 40 000 visitors a year and is the second largest in the world.