This is a former river delta with brown yardangs between the small arms of the former river. The delta is now oversaltet and contains many little hypersaline lakes.

A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water, that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride or other mineral salts. Typical saline levels surpass that of ocean water (e.g. 31.5 grams/liter). There are specific microbial and crustacean species that thrive in these high salinity environments,^[1] that are otherwise inhospitable to most lifeforms. Some of these species attain dormancy when they are desiccated and certain species have been shown to survive for over 250 million years.^[2]

The most well-known example of a hypersaline lake is the Dead Sea, dividing Israel and Jordan, at 8.6 times the salinity of ocean water, which is also the world's deepest hypersaline lake.^[3] On the French Polynesian island of Niau, there is a swampy landlocked hypersaline lagoon. In western North America is Mono Lake. There are a number of saline lakes in Africa, one of the largest of which is the seasonal Makgadikgadi Pan.^[4]

[edit] See also

• Halocline

[edit] References