Don Juan Pond in the south fork of the Wright Valley, Antarctica, is so salty that it remains liquid even at temperatures as low as -53 C because the salts interfere with the bonding of water molecules. The two common ways of expressing the salinity are in "parts per thousand" (g salt/1000g water) and "percentage weight of salt per water". At its saltiest, Don Juan Pond contains 671 parts per thousand salt, compared to 35 and 300 for the ocean and the Dead Sea respectively. The percentage of salt by weight is 40.2%, compared to 23.1% and 3.38% compared to the Dead Sea and the world's oceans respectively.
Don Juan Pond was discovered in 1961 during field reconnaissance by a U.S. Navy helicopter. The pond was named after Lieutenants Donald Roe and John Hickey, both of whom were members of the first field party to study the pond.
The Lake Vanda station (New Zealand) is one of the oldest long term camps in the Dry Valleys. Over the last four decades a lot of research in many disciplines has based out of this little hut. During the height of summer the edges of Lake Vanda melt enough to warrant the use of a small boat!