Erlian Salt Lake

Erlian Salt Lake

About 8 kilometers northeast of Erenhot City lies a salt lake known as “Erendabusansan Nur,” now translated as “Erlian Salt Lake.” Approximately 60 to 70 million years ago, this area was once an ocean where dinosaurs roamed this lush, green world. Later, dinosaurs and other reptiles were buried underground. The vast body of water gradually evaporated due to the dry climate, forming today’s Erlian Salt Lake.

　Erlian Salt Lake is a continental salt lake, currently measuring 4 kilometers in length and 3 kilometers in width. In 1984, the Erlian Salt Factory was established, with salt reserves of about 7.33 million tons and water reserves of approximately 17.1 billion tons at that time. Thanks to favorable natural climatic conditions, the annual production of raw salt reached over 3,000 tons. In recent years, due to the arid climate, strong winds, little rainfall, and high evaporation rates, Erlian Salt Lake has become a typical sub-sand salt lake, with current annual production reaching around 1,000 tons.