EDINBURG, Texas — Stunning shoreline views reveal one of the earth’s most intriguing natural phenomena.
But don’t let your eyes deceive you as the picture below isn’t of the Dead Sea in Israel. This photo is of a lake here in Texas, south of San Antonio.
This salt water oasis is La Sal Del Rey.
The beautiful body of water, located in Edinburg, runs a mile long on top of a solid dome of salt made up of ten times more saline than ocean water.
Laura de la Garza told KENS 5 the lake is also full of history. De la Garza is a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and knows a lot about La Sal Del Rey.
She said the lake was created millions of millions years ago, but nobody know how the lake came into existence. It was first discovered by 16th century Spanish explorers who claimed the lake for the King of Spain, hence the name “The King’s Salt”.
But that didn’t stop people from fighting over the lake, especially during the Civil War. Soldiers would use the salt to cure their meat supply.
“People wanted to use it because they knew it was a commodity. They knew it was something to further their cause,” said de la Garza.
She said possession of the lake would change hands over the centuries and several times. However, today it belongs to The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The wildlife habitat is nearly six thousand acres near the Texas-Mexico border.
Many animals live and rest there.
“A lot of people come out here because it is a migratory stop destination for a lot of birds,” said de la Garza.
The refuge sees several hundred kinds of birds! Yet, the birds can face trouble if they try to bathe in the salt water. de la Garza said their wings can crust up due to the salt.
“It becomes a death trap because their wings become so heavy that they can’t fly out of here,” she said.
Underneath the surface, small brine shrimp thrive and often change the color of the salt from white to pink.
Rogelio Zamora said the salt water lake reminds him of a mirror.
“You can get creative with the reflections especially when there’s clear sky,” said Zamora.
Zamora is a fashion photographer in the area. On occasion, he will bring models to the lake to capture photos for his portfolio.
Since it’s been a hot summer, he avoids shooting photos in the heat but admits it’s also the best time to at the lake.
“The lake is basically dry and it looks like it’s snow. You get really cool effects,” he said.
While the salt can be photographed, de la Garza said it can’t be remove from the lake and taken home.
“You only come with what you bring and you only leave your footprint behind,” she said.