What was found at Goderich?
According to Business View Magazine, Platt drilled 1,000 feet deep below Goderich Harbour, where he found an enormous amount of salt. Though Platt may have been disappointed at first, he soon came to realize this was the first salt bed ever encountered in North America, which was a significant find.
What is Goderich known for?
Goderich is known for its breathtaking shoreline and historic downtown area. Given the charm and character of Goderich, Queen Elizabeth has coined Goderich “the prettiest town in Canada”. Uniquely, Goderich is also home to the largest underground salt mine in the world.
Why is there salt under the Great Lakes?
Natural gas and anthracite coal exploration led to the accidental discovery of salt along the Lake Erie shoreline in the later half of the 19th century. Private citizens had searched for oil since the Civil War.
Where does Canada get its salt?
In Ontario, salt is found along the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Erie. This deposit is part of the known Michigan Basin and is a saucer-shaped formation underlying part of Michigan, part of Ohio, and lakes Huron and Erie. Canada also imports salt.
What body of water is Goderich on?
Located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron at the mouth of the Maitland River, Goderich faces the lake to the west and is notable for its sunsets.
How old is the salt we eat?
The harvest of salt from the surface of Xiechi Lake near Yuncheng in Shanxi, China, dates back to at least 6000 BC, making it one of the oldest verifiable saltworks. There is more salt in animal tissues, such as meat, blood, and milk, than in plant tissues.
Is brine a salt?
Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O).
When did the Goderich salt plant start producing salt?
The Goderich plant has operated since 1867, after an unsuccessful search for oil uncovered a vast bed of rock salt under Goderich. Using mechanical evaporation, the plant produces high-purity, fine- and coarse-grained salt products in packages and in bulk for commercial, agricultural and industrial applications.
How did Sam Platt discover the salt mine?
The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil. Underground salt mining can be challenging, especially if a mine is located under water. However, miners at the Sifto Salt Mine have perfected the process. The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt.
Where is the largest salt mine in the world?
Compass Minerals’ Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world.
Where was the salt found in Lake Huron?
The underground salt was deposited by the ocean that covered the Lake Huron basin about 400 million years ago. The mine has lunch rooms for workers, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a crushing plant, and dump trucks. The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil.