A shallow saline water solar pond is theoretically modeled and experimentally investigated using a carboxymethyl cellulose gel layer as an evaporation suppressor. Saline water shallow solar ponds are quite frequently encountered in deserts/arid areas and are considered potentially harmful to the soil, with no known usefulness. The influences of various parameters on the efficiency of the ground shallow solar pond are also investigated theoretically and experimentally. The present investigation shows that a very thin layer of gel is capable of increasing the thermal energy retaining capacity of the ponds, which can be harnessed by several available technologies.