Quaternary evaporite deposits

Three depositional settings are responsible for accumulating Quaternary-age evaporites: 1) Continental interior playas and salt lakes, 2) Seepage-fed marine-margin deposits, and 3) Saline interior seaways. In terms of the volume of evaporite salt accumulated, continental salts across the Quaternary period are significantly more abundant than those from marine-fed accumulations.

A table at the end of the localities listing provides a comprehensive overview of the climatic and physical properties of some of the Quaternary salt lakes discussed in this section. These lakes, located in the drainage basins of arid to semi-arid continental interiors, exhibit unique features, particularly those with substantial volumes of salt preserved in their lake sumps. They often have outcrops or subcrops of salt diapirs sourced from older salt layers located beneath or adjacent to the current drainage sumps, which adds to their geological significance.

Most of the world's larger salt lake ecosystems are in hydrographically closed (endoheic) basins. Since the waters in these basins' uplands are fresh, the feeder rivers and groundwater systems are heavily utilised for drinking water and irrigation. This leads to regional salinisation and falling water levels (click here for more information)