Evaporite
“The residue of vanished seas”
Evaporite is a broad category of sedimentary rocks formed when bodies of water evaporate, leaving behind layers of crystallized minerals. These deposits record ancient climate conditions and can be enormously thick — the Mediterranean basin contains evaporite layers over two kilometers deep.
halite, gypsum, anhydrite, sylvite, borax, trona
Dead Sea region, Stassfurt (Germany), Permian Basin (Texas, USA), Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia), Messinian deposits (Mediterranean)
2-3 (varies by mineral)
About 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up completely during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, leaving behind a massive evaporite layer across the entire sea floor.
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