Potash factory, ChinaLop Nur is a former salt lake in the Chinese Province of Xinjiang, between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts. In this vast desert area, something peculiar can be seen in this 100 m image. In the mid-1990s, potash (water-soluble potassium salt) was discovered in this region. Potash is a major plant nutrient, which led to a large mining operation and the building of a factory site. The large rectangular shapes (approximately 10 × 20 km in total), are evaporation ponds that are used to extract the potash from the mined salts. The arc-shaped salt mining patterns can also be seen.