Strunjan salt pans form a part of the Strunjan-Stjuža Nature Reserve. They are known as the smallest and the most northerly salt pans in the Mediterranean. They used to be the second most important salt pans in Piran, not far behind the Sečovlje salt pans. The shallowness of Strunjan Bay has been used to shape it into salt pans by building bunds, canals and shallow ponds which create an important ecosystem of salty wetlands.