Stretching across 530 acres like a huge snowy field, the Texas salt lake lies about 4 miles east of US 28l in Hidalgo County near McAllen. Fence posts encrusted with sparkling crystals form strange figures in the white landscape. Consisting of rock-crystal salt composed of 99.0897 percent sodium chloride, La Sal del Rey appears out of place amidst the tropical beauty of the lush Rio Grande Valley, and how it was formed remains a mystery. Salt exists in veins, like coal, but sometimes salt domes form when earth pressure forces salt up through cracks in the bedrock. However La Sal del Rey is not connected to any other body of water.
In addition to contributing to the oldest and most continuously produced commercial mineral enterprise in Texas, the lake also serves as a therapeutic wading pool and some have tossed in items to be retrieved, a few days later, decorated with glistening crystals. Usually ranging from three to four feet in depth, the lake may be dry at times or, following rainfall, its depths may reach ten feet or more. Engineers estimate the salt bed to contain four million tons of salt and when blocks of salt are removed they are quickly replenished, often within days.
Sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as El Sal del Rey, the salt lake got its name from the Spanish explorers who claimed it for Spain's King Charles III, naming it "the king's salt." While Texas remained under Spanish rule, the salt was transported into Mexico in wooden carts. It is said that tracks are still visible near the lake.
At one point, after the Constitutional Convention of 1866, La Sal del Rey fell under private ownership but is now part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge protects habitat for shorebirds, waders, desert-dwellers, songbirds, raptors and the brown jay which is found nowhere else in the nation. White-tailed Hawks and Crested Caracaras reside here year round and in summer, Snowy Plovers nest along the lake's edge. Many species can be spotted during migration and, in winter, curlews, cranes and geese roost in the area. In fact, nearly 500 species of birds have been identified here rendering the area popular with birdwatchers. Other animals such as the bobcat, jaguarondi, javelina, and some endangered species make this area their home as well.
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