One of the most inhospitable places on the planet is this place... it’s not the most inhospitable place on Earth, but it is exceptionally inhospitable…

It's so inhospitable that there is no life here. There are no plants of any kind, let alone trees, because plants simply can't survive here, even though it does rain here at least once a month.

There are no insects or animals of any kind either. Even scorpions and cockroaches can't survive here.

This place is literally devoid of life and it has nothing to do with the influence of man, it’s because this place is naturally devoid of life. Nothing can survive here.

If you were to suddenly find yourself in the middle of this place without any water you would not be able to walk out alive.

If the constant unrelenting sun doesn’t kill you from exposure then the extreme temperatures most likely would, because in the summer it's exceptionally hot and in the winter it's well below freezing.

No matter the season - after 48 of hours of walking around here dehydration would do you in. Without help, you’re a dead duck.

Even if you're lucky enough to get rain, the instant it's pooled on the ground it would be so toxic to you that if you drank it you’d only accelerate your demise.

Do you recognize it now?

No? All right, here's a clue, it's not snow that you've been looking at!

It’s salt!

Miles and miles of salt for as far as you can see. There's 30 thousand acres of it here, a full 46 square miles of the stuff up to five feet deep, and it's 90% pure.

It's so pure that you could literally pick it up off the ground and put it on your french fries, although that's strictly forbidden.

Why? Because it's also the flattest place on the planet. Being a little more specific, it's the largest flattest place on the planet, so removing salt from here is a big no no.

Do you know where it is now?

No? All right, all right! I'll tell you!

A little west of Salt Lake City, Utah is this place, it's called the Bonneville Salt Flats.

On the map it's shown in dark grey and as you can see it's a really really big place, much bigger than the city is.

Have you heard of it now?

Many people have, but not because of its impossibility to support life, but because Bonneville is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks for its contribution to land speed racing.

People have been racing cars on the Bonneville Salt Flats since 1914.

Wait a second… Since 1914? But Chrysler, GM, BMW, and many other car companies that exist today didn't even exist in 1914!

Yes! That’s correct! Cars were very different back then.

But hold on… why did people race there 105 years ago?

Because it's flat, and big, and totally deserted, and there's absolutely no speed limit!

Racing takes place on a part of the Bonneville Salt Flats known as the Bonneville Speedway where people try to break world speed records.

There are five major land speed events that take place at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Bonneville Speed Week takes place in August, followed by World of Speed in September and The World Finals take place in early October.

People race motorcycles, cars, trucks, jet cars and about everything else on wheels.

If you ever get a chance to go there it's well worth the visit, because there's absolutely no other place on earth like it.

Especially if you get to watch the world land speed records where cars hit speeds of up to 759 miles per hour (1160 km per hour).

Just remember to bring 20 liters of water for yourself and another 20 liters for your car, just in case it overheats, you don’t want to be stuck on the salt flats without water because there is no cellular service!

Hope you enjoyed reading about this inhospitable place!

Cheers!