Extra Salt Please...

This is a hard to get image due to the amount of security around this salt operation. This is Leslie Salt Company (now called Cargill Salt) on the east side of San Francisco Bay. I was on the train coming home and know that this is an impossible shot to get from foot/car/submarine. So, click and I can show you one of the oldest and largest salt farms in the nation.

Salt pond reclamation has been going on since 2001 on SF Bay. Many wetlands have been fully restored and birders have reported species once uncommon, now visiting the Bay on a regular basis.

The large mound of white is salt ready for purification and packaging. Could be on your table soon... How it works (simply): Various species of crustaceans in huge numbers over millions of years have died and accumulated in this area. The ponds have layers and layers of salt caused by the fossils, easily accessed after evaporative processes bring it to the surface. The ponds are controlled by floodgates as well as the ebb and tide. Once the evaporation leaves the residue (salt) accessible, large front-end loaders scoop it up and pile it where it dries further in the sun and is then carried by movable conveyor belts to the processing buildings.

I'm home after 19 hours of train time. Here's a back-blip from yesterday.

Cheers!