Mini Blog 2: Storms and Weather of Salar de Uyuni

Sitting at 3,656 meters above sea level the Salar de Uyuni is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes that can reach up to 5,000 meters above sea level. Since the salt flat is located on the Altiplano Plateau, which is also a basin temperatures range from very hot and humid during the day and very cold during the nights. 

This map shows the elevation of Bolivia and the surrounding areas. This includes the Altiplano Plateau (mrgilmartin.wikispaces.com).

The plateau that it sits has many speculations as to how it was formed. Usually plateaus are formed with thrusting continental plates that collide and want to reach isostatic balance, so the plates rise. Geographic studies have shown that the Altiplano plateau was in fact not created slowly, but rather in short bursts. The plateau was created through many rapid surface uplifts (Conners, earthsky.com). 

This is the diagram of the oceanic-continental convergence. Creating the Andes mountains (Bing).

 The rest of the region surrounding the Salar de Uyuni include the Andes mountains and many different volcanoes. The Andes mountains were formed because of oceanic-continental convergence. In lecture 11 we learned that this was because the Nazca plate converged with the South American plate. 

With the Salar de Uyuni being surrounded by mountains on a high plateau this creates no way for water to drain. Since the salt flat is south of the equator, the winters are usually during the months of May to August due to the tilt of the Earth makes the sun’s rays hit the Northern Hemisphere rather than the Southern. 

This shows the Earth's rotation in relation to the sun. It also shows the different months and where the sun is hitting the Earth. This shows when it is summer in Bolivia and when it is winter (weather.gov).

When it is summer on the salt flat there tends to be a rainy season. This usually occurs during December to March (Banjo Tours). With this rainy season brings about 200 mm of rain with it. With no drainage, due to the surrounding peaks and volcanoes, the water has nowhere to go, so a thin layer of water coats the salt flat. This is what causes the mirror like phenomenon that many travel every year to see. 

With nowhere to go, during the rainy season a thin layer of water covers the salt flat, creating a large mirror (tripping.com).

References

Conners, Deanna. May 7, 2014. Rapid growth spurts formed vast and beautiful Altiplano plateau. EarthSky. Retrieved March 2017. 

Banjo Tours. Weather and climate in Salar de Uyuni. http://www.salardeuyuni.tours/weather-climate-salar-de-uyuni/. Retrieved March 2017.