EARTHCACHE: SALINAS DE FUENCALIENTE EarthCache

Black and white, Salt and Lava, what a wonderful contrast!

Caused by the low price of salt, most of Canary Islands Salt Pans were closed. The only ones left were on Lanzarote and here on La Palma ….The SALINAS DE FUENCALIENTE which means the ‘Salt Pans of the Hot Spring’, lies at the south end of the island La Palma at the village of Los Canarios.

100 years ago the Salt Pans of Los Cancajos near Santa Cruz de la Palma were the first Salt Pans on the island, but it was closed down in 1967. The salt extraction was brought back to the La Palma from the Canary Island of Lanzarote.

 The regional government of the island declared the Salt Pans to be a place of scientific interest.

 Salt extraction from the Salt Pans is carried out completely by hand. The only  machines are  for drying, milling and packaging. The production is mainly made in the summer months. The other seasons are too wet with too much rain. It’s too humid and there is not enough sunshine for evaporation of the sea water in the basins. The rain waters down the salt brine and so the salt can not be extracted. Long dry periods with sunshine are the most important factors for the production of this healthy food.

 The Salt Pans of Fuencaliente work according to the principle of mud and stones, which means that the saline basins are built up with silt and lava stones. Local material taken from the region, and is therefore best for environmental protection. Building a Salt Pan of this type is very costly.

 In some of the extraction basins you can see a  pink coloration which is caused by brine shrimps (Artemia salina). They even master living conditions, which are regarded as sterile and absolutely hostile. They feed on micro organisms which also live in the same conditions. Brine shrimps give flamingos their beautiful pink colouration

EXTRACTION PROCESS

It sounds so easy, but it is difficult to extract salt out of the sea. The principle indeed is easy but it takes 3 to 5 weeks of hard work to get salt of good quality out of the basins, according to the weather situation, temperature, humidity, and sunshine duration. Seawater contains 1.23 ounce (35 gr.) of salt in every Litre.

First seawater is filled in the biggest and highest elevated basin the so-called mother pod.

After that it is led to the evaporation basins where the process begins. The seawater stays there for 15 to 20 days and the salinity increases from 4 % up to 17%. After that the salt brine is led to the crystallizations basins.

In these basins the salt brine stays for 10 to 15 days. When reaching a concentration of about 25 % the crystallization begins, the basin dries out, and the salt remains. For further drying it is pulled to the side of the basin before drying in an oven. The salt is then milled and packaged. Production here is 500,000 Kg per year.

The crystallization basins are 3x3 Meters and surrounded with small walls of lava stones to keep the wind away. The wind would cause the formation of salt crystals that are too large.

HEALTH

Iodine is an essential trace element. Iodine is needed for the correct function of the thyroid gland to build the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Iodine deficiency in the drinking water or in food can cause goitre. A deficiency of Iodine is one the possible causes for metabolic disorders and developmental disorders. Germany , for example is an iodine deficient country with a high percentage of iodine deficient people. Sea Salt with its high content of iodine is used there to prevent illnesses. The salt contains also magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, iodine, manganese, selenium, fluorine, and zinc. After all it is tasty as well.

ARTEMIA SALINA – BRINE SHRIMP

What a nice animal, as a kid I had these sea monkeys in a glass and later as an aquarist I needed them as food for the young fish.

A plan of the site, showing the way from the seawater to the salt, above the brown basins, the mother pods where the salt water is filled in first. Then the basins where the Artemia, the brine shrimps live , then  to the white salt basins, where the salt master harvests the salt with a wooden rake.

The owner allows and welcomes visitors and you can enter the site. And watch the basins; if you’re lucky you can see the people working, filling in water, cleaning the basins or pulling the salt for drying in the sun.

If the factory is open, you can buy packaged sea salt to take home.