Salar Grande, Coastal salt flats in Tarapacá Region, Chile.

Salar Grande is a salt flat in the Tarapacá Region, stretching 40 km long and 5 to 8 km wide, with salt deposits up to 160 m deep. It lies north of the Loa River mouth, between the Soronal salt flat to the north and the Cordillera de la Costa to the west. The Atacama Fault crosses it, and its coarse salt grains are 99% pure NaCl.

Salt was already extracted here in pre-Columbian times, but systematic mining began only in the 19th century. The Atacama Fault cuts across the salt flat, and in the 1980s a large share of the 800,000 tonnes of salt traded yearly on the international market came from Salar Grande, whose hard salt is 99% pure NaCl.

The name Salar Grande distinguishes this 40 km-long salt flat from the Salar del Soronal to the north. Luis Risopatrón recorded it in his 1924 Diccionario Jeográfico de Chile, noting that no caliche had been found there. The Atacama Fault crosses the flat, a detail geologists look for in the exposed salt.

Visitors should bring plenty of water and sun protection since this remote location has few facilities. Prepare well for harsh conditions when exploring the area.

The salt flat is crossed by the Atacama Fault, and its hard salt reaches 99% NaCl purity. In the 1980s, much of the 800,000 tonnes of salt traded yearly on the international market came from here, close to the port of Iquique.