Hotel built of salt

The Salt Hotel of Bolivia is so unique because the salt is always on the table. In fact, the salt is the table. This unique hotel located over the Uyuni Flats - world's largest salt flat, in the southwestern part of the Bolivia.

The hotel was built in 1993 by a salt artisan who saw a mint in the number of tourists looking for places to stay while visiting the flats. The lodge has 15 bedrooms, a dinning room, a living room and a bar.

The building's roof, and bar are built of salt and even the floor is covered with salt granules. The walls are made of salt blocks stuck together with a cement-like substance made of salt and water. During rainy seasons, the walls are strengthened with new blocks, while the owners ask the guests to avoid licking the walls to prevent deterioration.

Pics: Robert Dam

The amazing holes in the Earth

2. Kimberley Diamond Mine-South Africa
The Kimberley Diamond Mine (also known as the Big Hole) holds the (disputed) title of being the largest hand-dug hole in the world. From 1866 to 1914 50,000 miners dug the hole with picks and shovels, yielding 2,722 kg of diamonds. Attempts are being made to have it registered as a world heritage site.


3. Monticello Dam-CaliforniaThe Monticello Dam is a dam in Napa County, California, United States most noted for its large circular spillway with a rate of 48,400 cubic feet per second.

4 Bingham Canyon Mine-Utah
The Bingham Canyon Mine is a copper mine in the Oquirrh mountains, Utah. The mine is 0.75 mile (1.2 km) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide. It is the world's largest manmade excavation.

5. Great Blue Hole-Belize
The Great Blue Hole is an underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize. The hole is 1,000 feet across and 400 feet deep. It was formed as a limestone cave during the last iceage.

6. Mirny Diamond Mine-SiberiaThe Mirny Diamond Mine is 525m deep and has a diameter of 1200m. It was the first, and one of the largest, diamond Pipes in the USSR. It is now abandoned. While it was still operational, it would take two hours for trucks to drive from the top to the bottom of the mine.

7. Diavik Mine-Canada
The Diavik Mine is a mine in the Northwest territories of Canada. The mine (opened in 2003) produces 8 million carats or about 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) of diamonds every year.

8 Sinkhole-Guatemala
In 2007, a 300 foot deep sinkhole swallowed a dozen homes in Guatemala - killing 2 and causing thousands to be evacuated. The sinkhole was caused by rains and an underground sewage flow.

9. Udachnaya Pipe-Russia
The Udachnaya Pipe is a diamond mine in Russia. The owners of the mine plan to cease its operations in 2010 - in favor of underground mining. The mine was discovered in 1955 and is over 600 meters deep.


10. Chuquicamata-Chile
Chuquicamata is an open pit copper mine in Chile. It is the mine with the largest total production of copper in the world - though it is not the largest copper mine. The mine is over 850 meters deep.

Source: CRIENGLISH