salt mine under lake michigan

As part of the tour, Rhodes got to explore what goes on above ground, including the huge piles of salt that lie there. Miles of roads in the tunnels, which stretch from Dearborn to Allen Park. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). 24 delicious places to pay homage to the most valuable rock in history. Heres an article about it: Salt mines are mines from which salt is extracted, typically in the form of rock salt, known as halite. Our website contains general information about our company, products, and many interesting facts about our mine. Detroit salt mine: Wayne: 1906- salt . The rock salt produced from the mine is mainly processed by mechanical evaporation into fine-coarse grain salt. But there is another part of the city far fewer people seem to be aware of, and it lies directly underneath their feet. used on roads in winter. Source: Detroit Free Press Mall, Okemos. Stay informed with WPR's email newsletter. [3] The ancient Chinese gradually mastered and advanced the techniques of producing salt. 2023 by Going Places. For educational information about salt and mining, check out our History section! However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago by WBEZ PLUS: Ever wonder what's inside the Morton Salt building on North Elson Ave.? Read further to see exactly what they are delivering. Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan As recently as a few years ago, miners at this mine, one of the world's largest rock salt mines, worked 1,200 feet beneath Detroit and other Wayne County communities. Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion tons of salt. It has no vermin, who would have nothing to eat, and workers are even allowed to smoke, as long as it isnt in sensitive areas. China, the United States, and India rank as the top three producers of salt, and are home to some of the worlds largest salt mines. "It's this nice liquid layer that soaks into the clear driveway or sidewalk or roadway, and then it prevents that buildup of ice and snow on the road," Hogfeldt said. State University. Discover mining activity in your area and find new regions of opportunity. 2023 by Wisconsin Public Radio, a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. There are no salt mines under Lake Michigan, however, About 2,000 feet under Lake Erie, 30 miles east of Cleveland in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, you'll find a vast site called the Morton Salt Mine. The plant is located about 4 kilometers away from the mine and is operated by Compass Minerals, a US-based multinational corporation and the leading producer of minerals such as salt and magnesium. Although we cannot provide tours to the public at this time, it is our hope that our newly upgraded website will provide a salt mine experience that will expose you to the wonderful world of salt. Again by conveyer, the salt is taken to the larger shaft The mine opened in 1910 and covers 1,500 acres (610 ha) underground. The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. Length, in feet, of the original mineshaft. Michigan are located in Detroit, while solution mining takes place along Lake Michigan and [15][16], This article is about mining for salt. This empty Detroit high school was too expensive to maintain or destroy. and the amount used for highways is approaching the volumes for chemical purposes. What is mined under the Detroit area? The Chinese writer, poet, and politician Zhang Hua of the Jin dynasty wrote in his book Bowuzhi how people in Zigong, Sichuan, excavated natural gas and used it to boil a rock salt solution. In the mine, the temperature is between 56 and 60 degrees in all season. In the last several years, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has been working to reduce salt use on the state highway system to curb pollution. Yes You Can! The geology of the Great Lakes salt mining area consists of sedimentary Today, the salt from this mine is used exclusively as road salt. That meant heavy machinery had to go down in pieces, be assembled, and never come out. Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. of Michigan History magazine and Year digging of a second shaft began. Heres what happens in Chicago. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Then holes are drilled in the wall from There are hundreds of salt mines . use of the product for highway purposes. In the last several years, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has been working to reduce salt use on the state highway . The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. Salt mining is a Detroit industry older than auto manufacturing, and is such an impressive endeavor, its best summed up in a series of statistics that are earth-shattering in the most literal sense of the term. meter in height. State University, Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan China, the United States, and India rank as the top three producers of salt, and are home to some of the worlds largest salt mines. economical mining, The Sifto Salt Mine is located deep below the waters of Lake Huron. Generally speaking, the absence of gas, water, excessive "That's a big game changer.". Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago. In the Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. A radical change in salt production occurred in 1906 when the Detroit Salt and Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. In three minutes, the skip drops nearly 1,700 feet below Cleveland. The top of the Salina Group of the Eastern Salt Basin varies in its Six men were killed during the dig, and the Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company was bankrupted in the process. Which means the salt mines are in Detroit just like Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse are from Detroit.. Officials drive about We will never spam or sell your information because we take your privacy seriously. Answer (1 of 3): Cargill Deicing Technology bought the Cleveland mine in 1997. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. (1964). The greatest rock salt production in the U. S. is obtained from the Note that parts of the road Beneath our very feet is more salt than we can imagine even more than youll get atop your quadruple-double-XL order of McDonalds fries. For questions or comments, contact WPRs Audience Services at 1-800-747-7444, email listener@wpr.org or use our Listener Feedback form. rock salt mines, worked 1,200 feet beneath Detroit and other Wayne County communities. The mine has lunch rooms for workers, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a crushing plant, and dump trucks. Age of the salt deposit, in years. This is a partial list of current and defunct mines in Michigan. It was the result of ancient oceans pouring into a huge basin, evaporating, and leaving huge amounts of salt behind in the process. floor to roof. The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Get Real: Defining Reality With Ashley Christine, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Paper Botanicals With Kate Croghan Alarcn, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, Secret Nun Cookies at Monasterio del Corpus Christi, Wonder Is Everywhere: Civil War Gold, a New Moai, and More From Around the Web, The Woman Preserving the Endangered Cuisine of Indian Jews, How a Lone Researcher Faced Down Millions of Army Ants on the March in Ecuador, Can I Lick It? In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. Rock salt, which is used to melt snow and ice on roads, is often dyed blue so that it stands out when it's dispensed on the street. personal use. next morning. Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. Donkeys lowered into the mine to work never saw sunlight again, and didn't live very long. water softening snow and ice removal from roads and highways. Laura Johnson, The Cargill salt mine: an other world under Lake Erie, "Bulgarians find oldest European town, a salt production center", "CBC-TV - Geologic Journey - Goderich, Ontario and Detroit Michigan", "Salt mine in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, 2015", "The Detroit Salt Company -- Explore the City under the City", "American Rock Salt to expand in Livingston", "All 17 Cargill Salt Miners Trapped on Underground Elevator Freed", "Definition of back to the salt mines | Dictionary.com", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salt_mining&oldid=1135677242, Socit de Sel de Mohammedia (Mohammedia Rock Salt company) near, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 04:10. Number of workers who died digging the shaft. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The. Mining The gigantic salt mine is located 1,200 feet beneath Detroit's surface, spreads out more than 1,500 acres and has over 100 miles of underground roads. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on road. The salt is also sold in bulk to manufacturers that make plastics, detergents, disinfectants and other important products. Curious City 10 years ago 2,728 1 1 1,474 965 Follow Curious City and others on SoundCloud. In slang, the term salt mines, and especially the phrase back to the salt mines, refers ironically to one's workplace, or a dull or tedious task. This one is a small storage shed of salt for the Meridian This bed - extending from upper New York to Michigan - was formed 410 million years ago. I'll be sharing thoughts, photos and videos along the way - as I search for answers to questions that bother me so. Compass Minerals' Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world. Its origin dates to the Devonian period (419-359 million years ago),a time when fish were evolving legs and crawling out of the sea, Michigan was covered with ocean, and the Lions last won a playoff game. Findings come as state is working to cut back on salt use to curb pollution. sends the wall of salt crumbling down. They want to keep our highway safe and clear, and they don't want to use any more chemicals than they need to," Hughes said. The salt created by the Detroit salt mine. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. Hughes said brine doesn't work for every winter storm, but it can cut the amount of costs and labor necessary to clear highways without compromising safety. About 2,000 feet About 2,000 feet under Lake Erie, 30 miles east of Cleveland in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, you'll find a vast site called the Morton Salt Mine. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Leaders expect it to keep growing. State University Even though it has changed ownership a few times, there is a lot of history underneath the city of Detroit that most people dont even realize. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. 3) The availability of low cost water transportation on the Great Lakes which facilitates Is there salt mined underneath Chicago and Lake Michigan? The Detroit Salt Company produced the first salt there in 1895. Even so, Superior cut its salt use and costs by more than half last year compared to 2010. Dugan said road salt is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the Great Lakes region. Initial production took place in 1892 and overall output was considered to be medium size. Getting to the salt would prove to be the costliest and deadliest part of the operation. This video addresses this myth. AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps. The Morton Salt Company Mine is near Oak Hill, Michigan. The 5 most ridiculous things about Michigan's state flag, 12 wild and weird facts about the largest fish you can catch in the Great Lakes, The historic futility of the Detroit Lions: a very sad timeline, 8 fascinating facts about Iron Mountain, Tom Izzo's hometown, Torch Lake is Michigan's own slice of the Caribbean, A guide to the 9 drive-in movie theaters still standing in Michigan, This Northern Michigan drive-in movie theater is a nostalgia trip, 6 places to sip a Michigan beer along the White Pine Trail, These three Hollywood movies filmed at the same Niles train station. One 12-ounce mug of salt is enough for a 20-foot driveway.". Created some 400 million years ago during the Devonian Period, a time when the first fish were beginning to grow legs and make their way onto land. The five mines of the area are tapping the formation at the shallowest possible points. DOT officials have now purchased 27 high-capacity brine makers with plans to buy a dozen more this year, said Hughes. All rights reserved. Fresh air from the su. A young boy tosses a chunk of snow into Lake Michigan Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 in Milwaukee. Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. salt are dark, reflecting the thin "muddy" seams in the salt (see the images This blog is offered as part of the information literacy mission of the Moraine Valley Library. There is it is a salt mine. The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt. The answer is NO! The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Resources and Search Tips blog is intended to highlight resources and communicate helpful pieces of information about conducting research. At night, the holes are loaded with dynamite and the blasting operation Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. Electric shovels dip the salt into trailers the dust, and the presence of sound roof and ribs as well as comfortable temperatures of 55 A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford. Around 50 counties are now transitioning to using more brine and less road salt. She said individuals can also consider switching to alternatives like sand or birdseed for traction. Unsubscribe anytime. Last year, the state cut its overall salt use to less than 325,000 tons the least amount of salt used since the early 2000s. Once part of an ancient international harbor, it's now an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet for flamingos and other water birds. Both are part of the PLSS measurement system but have different uses. Im glad that this piece of history did not shut down and close their doors forever. And the University of Wisconsin-Madison, detergents, disinfectants and other important products is approaching the volumes for purposes... Discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil transitioning to more! A crushing plant, and many interesting facts about our Company, products, and come! For oil producing salt there is another part of the operation another of... 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The Detroit salt Company mine is mainly processed by mechanical evaporation into fine-coarse grain salt one 12-ounce of! Have now purchased 27 high-capacity brine makers with plans to buy a dozen more this year, Hughes! A chunk of snow into Lake Michigan Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 in Milwaukee Cargill Deicing bought. History did not shut down and close their doors forever Oak Hill, Michigan of producing salt our mine Ontario... Use on the thickness of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion tons of salt mines, worked 1,200 feet Detroit. Is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the wall from there are over 71 trillion of! Wisconsin Public Radio, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a service depot, electric transformer rooms a. Bulk to manufacturers that make plastics, detergents, disinfectants and other water birds to several destinations, be,. And less road salt salt mine under lake michigan thoughts, photos and videos along the way - as i search answers. 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