The Mirages of Chott el Djerid
Crossing Tunisia's great salt flat, travellers see lakes, palm trees and caravans hanging in the air ahead. When they get there, there's nothing but salt.
What was reported
Chott el Djerid is a huge salt flat in southern Tunisia, stretching for more than 100 kilometres, its surface white with salt crust and, after rain, shallow pink and blue water. In the heat, it's famous for mirages: shimmering lakes on the horizon, floating islands, distant palms that hang upside down and caravans that seem to walk on air.
For centuries, caravans crossing it risked getting lost or breaking through the crust. Its eerie landscape was used to film scenes of the desert planet Tatooine in Star Wars.
Explanations offered
Mirages form when layers of air at different temperatures bend light. Over the hot salt flat, light from the sky is bent upward, looking like water, and distant objects can appear raised or flipped. Complex mirages like this are called fata morgana.
- When
- Seen by travellers for centuries
- Where
- Chott el Djerid, Kebili and Tozeur, Tunisia
- Witnesses
- Desert travellers and visitors
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.