Welcome to my webpage. Virtually every city, county, and municipality has a storehouse of Michigan salt, to be Its no secret that Detroit has been hit very hard by the recession. Lake Erie is a geological newcomer compared to the salt buried below it. Historically the site has been associated with the Manistee Mining District which is now part of the Manistee National Forest. The Detroit mine now supplies Michigan and several other states, Detroit is known for many things: the auto industry, hockey, and Motown. The. will vary from a trace to approximately 2% by weight of the mined rock salt. Acreage of the vast network of underground tunnels. In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was the result of ancient oceans pouring into a huge basin, evaporating, and leaving huge amounts of salt behind in the process. control. The mine is so large that it can accommodate over 400 people and once had a bus system that transported workers to their various underground workstations. All Rights Reserved. The answer is NO! In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. Workmen "undercut" the walls of salt with a 3) The availability of low cost water transportation on the Great Lakes which facilitates 2023 by Wisconsin Public Radio, a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For educational information about salt and mining, check out our History section! salt are dark, reflecting the thin "muddy" seams in the salt (see the images Its called the city beneath the city: the myriad tunnels and chambers of the Detroit salt mines comprise one of our great states man-made marvels, a true thing of fascination for Michiganders. Wiki User. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. undisturbed by faults or other forms of sharp ground movements. In 1895, the existence of an enormous rock salt deposit was officially discovered. a minimum of approximately 800 ft to a maximum depth of approximately 6800 ft, while the fatality. "That's a big game changer.". There is it is a salt mine. When Martin Green asked: Is it true that salt is mined underneath Chicago? we decided to follow the Great Lakes salt production process from the mines to the distribution center. The To extract the salt, they first cut a large slice between the floor and a desired section of salt. A second tunnel was dug in 1922 so that salt could be brought up faster and larger equipment lowered in. Read further to see exactly what they are delivering. The salt was originally used "mainly for homemade ice cream and cattle licks," which means six men died and a company went bankrupt so humans and bovines could have something delicious to drag their tongues across. As a geological entity, this salt deposit is older even than the dinosaurs. An exploratory drilling exercise miscalculates the location of a salt mine while drilling through a lake bed. Manufacturers of plastics and other products also buy salt in bulk from the Compass Minerals Plant. The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. Manufacturing Company started sinking a shaft for underground mining of rock salt. ( Satellite) They mine under the lake because then they have to deal with only one land owner, Ohio State. Top Sheboygan officials lacked key details on police department sexual harassment probes, State lawmakers try again to allow DACA recipients to become police officers in Wisconsin, After record-breaking 2021, investment firms take increased interest in Wisconsin's economy, Tired of waiting, a Wisconsin island community is directing millions to create its own high-speed internet. area: The Sifto Salt Mine produces over 7 million tons of rock salt annually, which is enough to meet the demand in the Great Lakes region. Some of the salt is trucked to the Compass Minerals plant less than 4 kilometers away, to be packaged for distribution and sale at retailers in North America. Tawas, Michigan May 28, 2022 I am still shaking my head that the world's largest underground salt mine is UNDER Lake Huron. deposits of shale, limestone, sandstone, dolomite, gypsum, anhydrite, and rock salt Get out there with something to remove the snow mechanically," said Madison. The biggest development in the industry in recent years is increased The only surviving prototype for Buckminster Fuller's house of the future. One Curious City question prompted us to find out. the various sizes are separated. Sign up now! It has operated since 1959 and was acquired by Compass Minerals in 1990. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago by WBEZ PLUS: Ever wonder what's inside the Morton Salt building on North Elson Ave.? "It could have some repercussions that we're not fully aware of yet.". The Diggings is a resource for locating where mining claims are and have been. A central Wisconsin food pantry grew fivefold during the pandemic. History of The Detroit Salt Mine Genesis of a Salt Mine. Years that have passed since the salt was discovered. State University Underground salt mining can be challenging, especially if a mine is located under water. 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 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. water softening snow and ice removal from roads and highways. Years the salt mine was abandoned, from 1983-1998. Michigan are located in Detroit, while solution mining takes place along Lake Michigan and Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. 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. See. 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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It was over 1,500 acres big and had over 100 miles of roads making up this underground salt mine. Yes! [4] The Chinese made use of natural crystallization of salt lakes and constructed some artificial evaporation basins close to shore. Researchers examined past and current water data on the amount of salt flowing into the lake from 234 rivers and streams, according to Hilary Dugan, the study's lead author and assistant professor for the Center for Limnology at UW-Madison. Trucks powered by electricity take it to a giant crusher underground. But like much of Michigans mineral wealth, only a fraction of this The salt is also applied to icy roads in cities and towns throughout the Great Lakes region during the winter season. "Everybody wants to see people get home safe. In the Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. floor to roof. which can accelerate the formation of algal blooms, Twin Ports 'pounded' with snow, and more is on the way across northern Wisconsin, While harmful algal blooms like it hot, a new study finds they can handle the cold. Before the advent of the modern internal combustion engine and earth-moving equipment, mining salt was one of the most expensive and dangerous of operations because of rapid dehydration caused by constant contact with the salt (both in the mine passages and scattered in the air as salt dust) and of other problems caused by accidental excessive sodium intake. 2) Abundant salt at a reasonable depth and of sufficiently high quality to permit However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. The mines were owned and operated by The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company. This mine stretches from Dearborn all the way to Allen Park. [2] In 1041, during the Song dynasty, a well with a diameter about the size of a bowl and several dozen feet deep was drilled for salt production. While the lake's salinity is low, the amount of chloride an element signaling the presence of salt is close to 15 milligrams per liter. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; . of approximately 6000 ft. A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. Size, in feet, of the opening to the shaft at the time. For questions or comments, contact WPRs Audience Services at 1-800-747-7444, email listener@wpr.org or use our Listener Feedback form. Generally speaking, the absence of gas, water, excessive One may also ask, is it hot or cold in the Detroit Salt Mine? How far under Lake Erie is the salt mine? Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. This one is a small storage shed of salt for the Meridian Our website contains general information about our company, products, and many interesting facts about our mine. The top of the Salina Group of the Eastern Salt Basin varies in its (1964). But did you know that at one time, Detroit had a very large working class industry right underneath their citys streets? 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. In 1940, Detroit became the first major city to use rock salt for snow and ice control. Age of the salt deposit, in years. 2010-10-23 03:07:21. Please contact Randall Schaetzl (soils@msu.edu) Im glad that this piece of history did not shut down and close their doors forever. One Curious City question prompted us to find out. As recently as a few years ago, miners at this mine, one of the worlds largest Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. More than 1 million metric tons of salt is flowing into Lake Michigan each year, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When business was good, they offered public guided tours, which was very popular with school groups. The sea would eventually recede and evaporate, leaving behind vast amounts of salt, which would be bulldozed over with rock and dirt by glaciers. "There's a tremendous amount of salt going into the lake each year," said Dugan. The U.S. salt bed map (Courtesy photo | U.S. Dept. Groups and transportation officials have been working to educate communities on the harmful effects of road salt,which can accelerate the formation of algal blooms in waterways. 1 of 2. Offer subject to change without notice. Leaders expect it to keep growing. Which means the salt mines are in Detroit just like Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse are from Detroit.. 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. vertical distance below the surface. Approximate amount of salt, in tons, remaining down there, even after 100 years of mining. The Cargill salt mine beneath Lake Erie Watch on Down, down, down. Then the giant metal door swings open, and you're deposited in an other-world, with walls, ceiling and floor made of salt. The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. The mines were owned and operated by The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company. Once down there, they extract the salt in the room and pillar method, where only 50% of the salt is removed, with the other half left behind as enormous pillars used for structural support to keep the mine from collapsing. Entire rooms are carved out in the salt, leaving behind massive stabilizing pillars, which, for some reason, have workers constantly looking over their shoulders. or less to several inches. Way more. dust, and the presence of sound roof and ribs as well as comfortable temperatures of 55 The images below show what road salt looks like when it The Sifto Salt Mine produces over 7 million tons of rock salt annually, which is enough to meet the demand in the Great Lakes region. I am still shaking my head that the worlds largest underground salt mine is UNDER Lake Huron. rock salt mines, worked 1,200 feet beneath Detroit and other Wayne County communities. Today, road deicing salt is the primary product. The Goderich plant has been in operation since 1867. The Detroit Salt Company (MLive photo | Ben Solis). In the beginning, the leather and food industries were the primary customers. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com. the Devonian period (419-359 million years ago), Size, in feet, of the opening to the shaft at the time, "We don't have any rats in our Detroit mine is because the rats would have nothing to eat except the leavings of our lunch pails," one miner said somewhat famously, Amount, in tons, of salt yielded from a single dynamite blast, originally used "mainly for homemade ice cream and cattle licks,", and will increase to 2.5 million tons if a proposed expansion is approved. personal use. Davis Readings in the Geography of Michigan In the mine, the temperature is between 56 and 60 degrees in all season. Life expectancy for the miners was low. The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. Therefore, usually a minimum of 1 ft of salt is left on the floor, while 4 to 6 feet of : Bosnia and Herzegovina: Tuzla: Bulgaria: Provadiya; and Solnitsata, an ancient town which Bulgarian archaeologists regard as the oldest in Europe and the site of a salt-production facility approximately six millennia ago. Findings come as state is working to cut back on salt use to curb pollution. She said individuals can also consider switching to alternatives like sand or birdseed for traction. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. [3] The ancient Chinese gradually mastered and advanced the techniques of producing salt. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. Fresh air from the su. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations.[1]. freezing point to reduce cracking. 5.1M views 15 years ago This is how you flush an entire lake down a hole. "It's good to know that what we're seeing is not catastrophic by any means, but we should be aware that it is increasing," said Dugan. "Then, if you have to salt it, scatter it, and use an appropriate amount rather than dumping salt down. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. Paul Ryan says he'll support 'anybody but Trump' in the 2024 presidential contest, Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. 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. the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigans only underground salt An enchanting natural wonder in Puerto Rico's Camuy River Park. Pillar size is adjusted so that the extraction or recovery The economy of salt mining dried up like a 400 million-year-old ocean, prompting the company at the time, International Salt, to say, Na. Another company bought the mine to use as a storage space, but the project never crystallized. This video addresses this myth. Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. 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 image Some 1,200 feet beneath the streets of Detroit, under the north end of Allen Park, Dearborns Rouge complex, and most of Melvindale, run 100 miles of subterranean roads over an area of more than 1,500 acres. The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan Solution mines are often called "brine mines". 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