Interesting question. Both are deserts really. What is a desert? A desert is an area that receives extremely low rainfall. In fact, in many deserts, the water evaporated is more or faster than the amount of rainfall leading to arid areas which do not support the growth of plants or provide a habitat for animals. Well, not unless they are extremely adapted to those conditions and are truly hardy, able to survive in the unforgiving and harsh conditions. Negligible cloud cover, the sun’s rays beats down with relentless intensity, scorching the surface. And almost the moment the sun sets, bone numbing cold sets in. The difference in day and night temperatures in the desert can be nearly 50 degrees Celsius. Considering that only a fourth of the Earth’s surface is land, almost a fifth of that land mass comprises desert. Of course these include the polar deserts and the high mountains. So the chances of an adventurer finding himself or herself lost in either a desert or a salt flats is quite high.
Where I would rather be lost and find myself struggling to survive? Let us first look at what the two geographies have to offer.
The desert has almost no vegetation, almost no trees, some scrubs and bushes, intense temperatures, and most importantly, almost no water. The two things that kill in the desert are the intense heat and the lack of water. You can die in about a day, lost in the desert. The trick is to conserve your body fluids and internal moisture content, hunker down in a shade throughout the day, not move, not eat, and do all the walking and navigating at night when the weather is a lot cooler and the brain is not getting fried. It might still kill you though, the desert is unforgiving, almost with a vengeance.
Now if this was not harsh enough, what does a salt flat have in store? Everything that the desert has ... and more. Lesser vegetation than one can find in the desert for one. Which means no shade to talk about to sit and rest under. Sit? It is a salt flat. Meaning that the ground is full of salt. And most salt flats are wet and soggy. Which means trying to find a dry spot to sit becomes so much more, well, impossible. And even though the ground is wet, the water is not good to drink. You can die of dehydration faster by drinking salt water than not drinking any water at all. It takes two litres of fresh water to dilute one litre of salt water.
But compared to the desert, water is available ... salt water. And you can make a solar still to purify some drinking water to be able to stay hydrated. Inland salt lakes are often fed by fresh water rivers. If you know where you are lost and know the geography of the area, you might be able to head towards the river ... and rescue. In a salt lake fed by the sea, this option is not there.
The problem will be to find a place to rest and to find natural material to make a shelter. You will probably have to dig out some waterproof material from your pack to sit/lie on, and pull out some more stuff like a tarp sheet to build a roof to cut out the direct rays of the sun.
Both in the desert and in the salt flat, there is almost nothing to navigate to aid your journey forward, no distant trees to head for, or a hill or a lake or a pond or vegetation, nothing. The desert might have an undulating terrain, the salt flats none at all.
It is as difficult to walk on sand as it is to walk on slushy salt lake beds.
Suffice it to say, both are natural born killers, waiting like a spider for the fly to come into its parlour! But given a choice, where would I rather be lost? Tough question. Considering that water is life and even a cup of drinking water can mean one more night trying to get out of the problem, I think I would choose the salt flat.
But before I head anywhere near a salt flat, I will ensure that I am extremely well prepared in case I get into a survival situation. I will gear myself up with the tools that will help keep me alive. A couple of tarp sheets, a small tent, water containers, water purifying tablets, sun hat, goggles, good boots ... and a map of the area – printed as well as loaded on to my GPS.
Remember the 7 Ps of wilderness survival – Proper Planning Preparation and Practice prevents Possible problems. And when one is heading out consciously into a problem terrain, every grain of sand and every grain of dissolved salt, is a potential killer. Be prepared.
(The most famous of salt lakes/flats in India is the Rann of Kutch. A lesser known one is about 60 km northwest of Jaipur, the Sambhar Lake)
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