Why do thick salt crusts become rugged at Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley?

At the Devil’s Golf Course in Death Valley, the salt crusts become rugged due to the process of rigorous evaporative concentration, which forms thick, soluble salt deposits.1

The rugged topography is further shaped by the dissolution of these thick crusts during fluctuations in the local water table. As the water level changes, the dissolution of the salt creates cavities within the crust, resulting in a distinctive salt karst landscape.1