Fleur de Sel Naturelle!

This image shows salt crystals of up to 2 cm in width floating on water in a sinkhole at the Dead Sea, Jordan. The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest water bodies on Earth. In a sinkhole within salt deposits adjacent the sea, intense evaporation has lead to supersaturation of groundwater brine with respect to salt (esp. NaCl) and the precipitation of large (cm-scale) floating salt crystals. The salt floats on the water due to a number of possible factors, such as the hypersaline water’s high density, its high surface tension, and the possible entrainment of gas in the crystals. In commercial salt production, such floating crystals are harvested and sold as a culinary speciality known as ‘Fleur de Sel’.