Exploring one of the largest salt flats in the world

A recent research report about one of the largest lithium brine and salt deposits in the world in Chile’s Atacama Desert is the first to show that water and solutes flowing into the basin originate from a much larger than expected portion of the Andean Plateau. The massive evaporite deposit, 1,200 meters thick, appears to be draining an area far larger than a map-based or topographic watershed would suggest, says the lead hydrologist.