Stanford Crew rows out of a facility right next to[0] some of these salt ponds. When I rowed there - 20 years ago - there were also huge piles of salt right next door; I think it was/is a staging area for Cargill. These piles were big enough to have bulldozers driving around on them.

I think the facility may have moved a short distance since then; at the time there was also a truly enormous cylindrical "ship" docked right next door at a Lockheed Martin facility (since disappeared, it looks like). It looked like it could telescope to change its length; I don't know why.

They also used to whisper in crew recruits' ears that we would shortly be moving to row on Crystal Springs Reservoir[1], which would be a very different experience. That ... never happened =)

[0] https://www.google.com/maps/place/Stanford+Rowing+and+Sailin...

[1] https://www.google.com/maps/place/Crystal+Springs+Reservoir/...