SALT
Unique beauty born from industry
San Francisco bay’s commercial salt production began in 1854. By the 1930’s, almost half of the South Bay’s tidal marshes had been converted into salt ponds. Cargill and Morton continue to produce salt here in SF Bay, Miles of levees form ponds controlled by valves and pumps. Each fall, evaporation concentrates the salt content of the ponds resulting in vivid colors & exposed crystals.
Sections on this page:
California light renders that juicy saturation I’m always drawn to. My bay area photography & video archive, collected over the past couple years, has gotten pretty rich. Contact me for usage, prints or media projects.
An interesting bit about salt, iodine, goiters & IQ’s.
In the early 1920, iodine was added to table salt to combat thyroid problems. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“In later adulthood, both men and women had higher family incomes due to iodization.”
When It Rains It Pours: The Long-run Economic Impacts Of Salt Iodization In The United States
Prior to commercial harvesting, salt was collected and brought to market via sticks placed in the tidal marsh.
“Beginning in the mid-1800s, large portions of the San Francisco Bay EstuaryÃs tidal marshes and mudflats were filled, diked, or drained to create farms, ports, salt ponds, rail lines, and roads. Eventually, whole cities were built on fill, such as the cities of Alameda and Emeryville, and large portions of Berkeley and Oakland.” – More @ Southbayrestoration.org
Here are some of my favorite salt pond photos I’ve taken since moving to CA in 2016.
Videos shot in HD & 4k, but optimized for streaming & speed.
More information about salt & marsh restoration in the South Bay.
Restoring the Salt Ponds | Science in the City | Exploratorium
Beautiful aerial views and salt pond restoration explanation.
Move at The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project.
Want to know more about the salt ponds?
- What Are Those Weird, Pink Ponds in San Francisco Bay? – KQED Science
- $100 million salt-pond deal sealed with Cargill – Land deals
- South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project – Restoration
Back to sections on this page.
Please join me!
There will be additions to this post and others. If you like to be notified of these drop me your email here.
I recently met a very interesting woman who was volunteering at the Moffett Field HIstorical Society Museum here in Mountain View CA. She’s a pilot and has since sent me a box of photo slides taken in the 1980’s. There are some really cool arial shots of the salt ponds and south bay marshes. At some point I’ll scan those and add them here. So, sign up!