Salt from Lake Giulietti 2008

These evaporation ponds are on the southern shore of Lake Afrera. Cinder cones and Hayli Gubbi volcano in the background.

Salt foam gets piled up along the shore of Lake Afrera (or Giulietti) by the prevailing northern winds.

Remarkably, these palms seem able to survive even in such an unhospitale salty environment.

Water from the lake is evaporated in these artifical ponds, creating salt deposits in a few days.

Very early in the morning workers cut up the dried salt crust.

Then very large salt blocks are lifted...

...while Venus shines high in the sky (upper left).

Then the salt blocks are broken in smaller pieces.

The salt is now ready to be removed from the pond...

...and is here piled up to be later picked up by trucks.

Time for a well-deserved breakfast.

Salt dust in the air can do much damage to eyes!