Las Cumaraguas, Salt evaporation pond in Falcón, Venezuela.

Las Cumaraguas is a salt flat in Pueblo Nuevo, Falcón, about 14 km from the Médanos de Coro and south of Cabo San Román. Its broad, shallow pools hold pink water, coloured by Dunaliella algae and crustaceans, and are bordered by mounds of white, crusty salt; one lump carries a brownish-yellow, rock-like top. Three beaches, El Supí, Tiraya and Mata Gorda, share the site.

The salt facility developed to tap into the region's abundant salt resources and grew into an important production center for the local economy. Over time, the operation remained continuous, shaping the economic use of Falcón's coastal zone.

Salt has been extracted here by hand for 78 years, using picks, shovels and wheelbarrows. At one entrance, workers set up a station where they explain the daily labour of harvesting salt and sell salt stones of all sizes and shapes as souvenirs. Three beaches, El Supí, Tiraya and Mata Gorda, share the salina's space.

Access is via the Coro–Punto Fijo highway, turning off on the stretch between Moruy and Pueblo Nuevo; the salt pans lie about 7.6 km south of Venezuela's northernmost continental point, on the way to Cabo San Román. Visitors can arrive in a rustic vehicle or by public transport. Walk the long causeways between the pink pools; the colour deepens around midday.

The pink colour comes from Dunaliella algae, whose pigment intensifies on contact with the salt; the tone shifts through the day and deepens towards midday. Source 2 instead attributes the colour to tannin from surrounding trees, which also leaves a lumpy pink foam. NASA has cited the site's colour, and photographers come for it.