[NASA] Searching for Selenite

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3. Searching for Selenite

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• Topics
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• More Content
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• About
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October 10, 2025

Dating back centuries, salt-crusted plains in present-day Oklahoma held great value to native tribes and, later, to homesteaders. People used the

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in their diets, for

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, and for trade. The area also proved to be a fertile hunting ground due to the abundance of game that sought out the nutrient-rich habitat.

Since 1930, the salty deposit located about 90 miles (150 kilometers) northwest of Oklahoma City has been part of

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. Today, the plains are still known as a gathering place for diverse animal life, including more than 300 species of birds. But its salt resources have become appealing in another way: it is the

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where people can dig for a distinctively patterned form of crystallized gypsum.

The

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 (Operational Land Imager) on 

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 captured these images of the area in natural color (above) and

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(below) on October 10, 2025. The salt basin is partially filled by

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, a shallow reservoir formed by the

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and fed by ephemeral streams.

The false-color image combines the shortwave infrared portion of the

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with visible light (

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). In this combination, healthy vegetation appears dark red to purple, and water is blue. The variation in color on the salt plain may be due to different moisture or salinity levels. (Scientists can use shortwave infrared data in

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.)

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October 10, 2025

The basin’s salt has its origins in the Permian *******, about 300 million to 250 million years ago.

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from that time still underlies parts of the southwestern U.S., including western Oklahoma. Salt gradually dissolves into groundwater, and when the resulting brine rises to the surface, the water evaporates and leaves behind a bright crust.

The saline water is a key component in a mineral structure unique to the area—

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crystals. Selenite, a crystalline variety of gypsum, forms in the top two feet of the wet subsurface when saline water combines with gypsum. The process can occur relatively quickly when temperatures and moisture levels are right. Likewise, crystals may dissolve away if the environment is too wet. Sand and clay particles get incorporated into the otherwise clear crystals, often in a

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.

Visitors to the Salt Plains

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for these crystal “blades,” but

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is limited to certain months of the year so as not to disrupt

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of shorebirds and waterbirds. The salt flats provide habitat and feeding grounds for species such as the snowy plover, sandhill crane, and endangered

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. Other wildlife common to the area include white-tailed deer, red-eared sliders, and nine-banded armadillos.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the 

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. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

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Natural color, October 10, 2025

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False color, October 10, 2025

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References & Resources

• Johnson, K.S. (1981)
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  . Journal of Hydrology, 54 (1–3), 75-93.
• National Geographic (2020, September 15)
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  . Accessed March 3, 2026.
• Oklahoma Historical Society (2010, January 15)
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  . Accessed March 3, 2026.
• Oklahoma Historical Society (2010, January 15)
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  . Accessed March 3, 2026.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
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  .  Accessed March 3, 2026.
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
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  . Accessed March 3, 2026.

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