This series of aerial images explores the impact of human industry on the landscape of the San Francisco Bay Lands. Here, along the jagged coastline of Silicon Valley, tidal marshlands have been transformed to industrial salt mining, producing salt not just for our tables, but roadways and large-scale food preparation. The process is slow but visibly dynamic as sea water is funneled into a series of ponds, where evaporation from the sun and winds increase salinity levels. The salinity determines the type of organisms that are supported, which in turn changes the color of the water from blue-green, to blood red and ultimately snow white salt fields. Segments of the land are currently being transferred back into public hands to be converted back to marshlands and establish healthy habitats for native species and organisms.
