This is not photoshop. This salt mountain is located in Germany.
How did it come about?
Monte Kali is an unusual artificial mountain that quickly grew in the small town of Heringer in eastern Germany. This mountain contains nothing but sodium chloride or table salt, which is a byproduct of potash mining (potassium carbonate, K2CO3). For over a hundred years, potash mining has been one of the main industries in the region. It all began in 1903 with the opening of the Wintershall mine, which is today the world's largest potash mine.
Let's take a closer look at it …
Monte Cali is called "Kalimanjaro" by the locals. The mountain began to grow in 1973 as a result of the extraction of potash (potassium oxide) and now its height exceeds 200 meters, and the area reaches 100 hectares. The world's largest potash mine produces 900 tonnes of sodium chloride (table salt) as a by-product per hour. The huge dump contains about 188 million tons of table salt, which pollutes the soil and local water bodies.
Potash mining produces a mixture of potash and sodium chloride, with a potassium content of 20% to 35%. Thus, for every ton of reduced potash, several tonnes of sodium chloride are produced. It is dumped as industrial waste in several places throughout the region. This is how these snow-white mountains grow, containing up to 96% sodium chloride.
Promotional video:
Monte Cali and other similar salt dumps in the region are environmentally destructive. Large amounts of salt seep into the ground, polluting the soil, groundwater and rivers. The surrounding land has become practically barren, and only a few species of salt-tolerant halophytic plants can grow there. The nearby Werra River has also become inhospitable to freshwater organisms.
The amazing salt mountain in Germany attracts more and more visitors every year.