During the summer vacation, I went to the Torrevieja salt lake in Spain for a field trip. This salt lake is different from ordinary salt lakes because there is a lot of seaweed in the lake. Once the salinity of the lake exceeds the salinity of the seawater, the plant in the lake begins to gather red carotene under the high temperature and abundant sunshine, turning the lake into a pink colour. I pay more attention to the irregular salt blocks that stand on the edge of the lake. These salt blocks are natural sculptures formed by the long-term soaking of high-salinity lake water and the impact of lake water.
Because the lake's "slap" on the rock is random, multi-angle. Therefore, each piece of salt sculpture is different. The surface has a texture similar to the shell bump, and also has a shape similar to the drop of wax. These naturally crystalline salts are very hard, just like stalactites.
Compared to the salt crystals I made before, this naturally formed salt block has higher plasticity and higher hardness.
So I began to think, can this naturally generated salt block be used as a material for my project? Can I make it myself without natural mining?