Don Juan Pond

Don Juan Pond is more than simply a silly-sounding name. The hypersaline lake, which lies close to Lake Vanda, is the second-saltiest body of water on the planet. As a result, the salinity of the lake permits it to stay liquid despite the bitterly cold Antarctic climate. The first persons to look into Don Juan Pond were two helicopter pilots who found the lake in 1961 and gave it its name.

Since it was founded in 1961, Don Juan Pond has generated a lot of interest among scientists, especially astrobiologists. The landscape, which is reminiscent of Mars, is used by researchers to investigate what may be humanity's next frontier: Mars.

Don Juan Pond is just four inches deep, giving it the appearance of a thick, salty puddle rather than a proper pond. The shallow water is so salt-rich that it doesn't freeze even when the temperature drops well below zero. However, even though it never freezes, neither the pond nor its surroundings are home to any aquatic life.

Don Juan Pond is situated in the Wright Valley, which contributes to its salinity. At the heart of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, one of the driest and coldest deserts on Earth. It releases a lot of salts and the many kinds of salts that have collected, much like a scorching desert.