In 2012, Kevin Cannon, now a Ph.D. candidate studying planetary geology at Brown University, was allowed to study Spotted Lake’s mineral composition, which is similar to the mineral deposits observed at what had apparently once been lake shores at Columbus crater on Mars.

This kidney-shaped lake, which is half-a-mile long and five football fields wide, is known to Canada’s Okanagan First Nations people as “Kliluk” after the minerals they’ve used in healing ceremonies for thousands of years. More recently others have called it “Spotted Lake” or “Polkadot Lake.” Minimal life survives in the lake’s super salty conditions, which is why, along with a particular set of minerals, it’s been described as a terrestrial analog for ancient Martian lakes.

Thanks to Joanna Klein, New York Times