Detroit Salt Mines
A
cache
by The Roving Ravenstones
Hidden:
5/16/2005
Size:
 (Not chosen)
Difficulty: 
Terrain:
(1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)
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Most people are unaware that the Salt Mines even exist in Detroit.
It is my hope that this earthcache will educate local Michiganders
and geocaching visitors to the importance of the major geological
feature.
This is PRIVATE land owned solely by the company, so to log
this virtual please stand on the sidewalk in front of the company
and take your picture with your Gps, You and some identifying mark
(ie. The company’s sign, the salt elevator, ). I hope you enjoyed
this historical and geological find!
 When you
drive on an icy road, eat a potato chip or wear a pair of leather
shoes, you may be using one of Michigan’s least known natural
resources---salt. During the Paleozoic Era, beginning about 600
million years ago and ending about 230 million years ago, seawater
invaded the Michigan Basin(an area about 80,000 sq. miles) at least
six times. As the seas receded and evaporated, rock and mineral
deposits such as halite (rock salt), gypsum (calcium sulfate with
water), liquid brines, petroleum, lime, clay, sandstone and coal
were left behind.
 During the
early decades of the 20th century, Michigan led the nation in salt
production. Michigan is a leading producer of many natural
salines---underground waters rich in chlorides, calcium, magnesium,
sodium and, in lesser amounts, potassium, bromine and iodine. Salt
under Michigan has created fortunes, towns and manufacturing
centers. Michigan ranks first in the United States in the
production of calcium chloride (salt) and in gypsum, fourth in
cement and sand and gravel, and is a large producer of crushed
stone for a variety of purposes. These minerals are found in the
sedimentary rocks of the Michigan Basin or in the extensive glacial
deposits. Salt is obtained from beds of rock salt (the Salina
Formation is but one) over 1,100 ft below the surface in Detroit
and from natural and artificial brines of dissolved salt that are
pumped to the surface in Midland, Manistee, Muskegon, Wayne, and
St. Clair Counties. The salt layers were laid down as evaporite
deposits in the seas of the middle Paleozoic era---in the
Mississippian, Devonian, and Silurian periods. Indians took salt
from the same springs and sometimes used it as an item of trade
with neighboring tribes. Some of the earliest white settlements
were begun at brine springs in the southeastern part of the state.
(Brine is water saturated with common salt.) Salt was so important
to early pioneers that during the winter of 1836-37 in Branch
County a 20-pound venison ham could be traded for a fist-sized lump
of salt. Used mainly as a preservative, salt was essential for
survival on the Michigan frontier.
 From the top
to the base of the image is about a meter. Note that the salt
occurs in distinct beds, or layers. This layering is due to the
fact that the salt was depoisted layer-by-layer in an evaporation
basin. The darker layers are still salt, but contain some
admixtures of silt and clay (i.e., the water was muddier then).
 Evaporite
deposits (gypsum and rock salt, or halite) formed in the Michigan
basin when waters flowed into the basin, and then evaporated,
depositing the salts. This is referred to as the "Salt Cycle".
In accordance with the new Eartcache guidelines, please answer the
following question in a private email to us, along with posting
your picture.
Approximately how tall is the Salt elevator?
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