How Germany Got a Mountain Made of Salt (6 photos)
Rising above the German town of Heringen is a massive white flat-topped mountain. While it looks like a snow-capped peak, it is actually made of salt waste. Known as Monte Kali, this giant spoil tip grew alongside a local potash mining operation and continues to expand to this day. 
Monte Kali near Heringen. The white spoil tip towers over the town and the Werra Valley.
Potash salts extracted from mined ore are primarily used in fertilizers. However, underground deposits also contain large amounts of sodium chloride—common table salt. A significant portion of this leftover material ends up on the dump site. That is why Monte Kali appears stark white, even though it is industrial waste rather than a stockpile of edible salt. 
The salt mountain viewed from Heringen.
Dumping at the site began in 1976. According to the local potash museum, the spoil tip covers about 119.5 hectares and contains roughly 256 million tons of material. The summit plateau alone spans nearly 25 hectares.
Popular captions often refer to Monte Kali as a 530-meter-high mountain. However, this conflates two different measurements: elevation above sea level and the actual height of the pile itself. The museum notes that the heap rises 110 to 260 meters above the surrounding terrain, with its peak officially permitted to reach 520 meters above sea level.
The mountain continues to grow via a conveyor system. According to museum data, roughly 1,000 tons of material are added every hour during operation, totaling about 7.2 million tons annually. Because this is an active industrial site, photos taken over the years capture it at different stages of expansion. 
Machinery depositing waste material at the summit. 
Monte Kali's summit plateau and conveyor system.
Visitors can also see the white slopes up close, as guided tours are offered on Monte Kali. The trek up follows a steep ramp, rewarding hikers with panoramic views of the Werra Valley, the town, and nearby industrial sites. 
Cracks on the surface of the spoil tip caused by settling material. 
A view of the valley from the top of Monte Kali.
