| Salta | |
|---|---|
 Above: Salta after an uncommon winter snowfall. Below: The road leading into the hamlet at the top of the hill. | |
| OS grid reference | NY083455 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MARYPORT |
| Postcode district | CA15 |
| Dialling code | 01900 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Salta is a hamlet in the parish of Holme St Cuthbert in northwestern Cumbria, United Kingdom. It is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) southwest of the village of Mawbray, and 25.1 miles (40.4 km) southwest of the city of Carlisle. It has a population of about 35 people.
Salta can only be accessed from the lane from Mawbray, which goes on to join the B5300 coast road, although two public bridleways provide access over the fields from Hailforth and Mawbray. The hamlet consists of mainly bungalows, and a farm is still in operation in the vicinity. A caravan park, Manor House Park, is situated across the Moss to the southeast, to the southwest of the hamlet of Edderside.
The settlement's name is derived from "sēalt-tir", meaning "salt land" in Old English, as during Anglo-Saxon times, salt making was a major industry on the Solway Plain. Fortified during the Roman period, in the 1550s, Salta participated in a system called "seawake", a night watch to guard the coast against incursions across the Solway by the Scots. Salta Moss was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1954 and forms part of the Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is home to a diversity of wildlife, including Adders, Britain's only native venomous snake, and several varieties of heather, as well as the purple moor grass Molinia caerulea.