What is under Lake Erie?

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. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on roads.

Can you tour the salt mines under Lake Erie?

Although tours are no longer offered of the mine, just knowing it's there is mind-blowing. Lake Erie is the shallowest Great Lake. Near the shores of Cleveland, it's about 65 ft. deep.

Why is there salt under Lake Erie?

The salt is leftover from a giant inland sea that 400 million years ago stretched from Michigan to New York. You could delve anywhere in that swath to find salt. But under Lake Erie, Cargill has to lease land from only one landowner: the state of Ohio.

How far down are the salt mines under Lake Erie?

A lot of that salt is mined in Ohio, pulled from the remains of massive inland sea that dried up more than 400 million years ago. This vast deposit lies 2,000 feet below Lake Erie.

Are there salt mines under the Great Lakes?

Beneath the Great Lakes basin is a massive salt deposit which has actually given birth to the largest salt mine in the world, the Goderich Salt Mine. It has been in operation since 1959 and was acquired by the American company Compass Minerals in the year 1990.

Inside a salt mine under Lake Erie

Are there tunnels under Lake Erie?

Burrowing beneath Lake Erie

The sewer district engineered the tunnel to go under the lake in part because the cost of acquiring lake-shore property or easements would likely be greater than the extra cost to lengthen the tunnel and burrow under the lake, officials said.

What's the deepest part of Lake Erie?

With a mean surface height of 570 feet (170 metres) above sea level, Erie has the smallest mean depth (62 feet) of the Great Lakes, and its deepest point is 210 feet.

Are there underwater caves in Lake Erie?

Perry's Cave, registered as an Ohio Natural Landmark, is a natural limestone cave steeped in historical tradition. The cave lies 52 feet below the surface of South Bass Island in Lake Erie. The discovery of the cave, in 1813, is credited to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the battle of Lake Erie.

Why is glass not allowed in salt mines?

"Glass is soluble and it's leachable-it's what you would do if you wanted to maximize activity in the geologic environment," Luth said. New findings are also being reported on the use of salt mines as repositories for radioactive waste.

Who owns the land under Lake Erie?

4 One exception is the submerged land beneath the Ohio portion of Lake Erie, which is owned and held in trust for the public by the State of Ohio.

Is there gold in Lake Erie?

Prospecting is quite popular in Ohio, and there is indeed some gold to find along the banks of Lake Erie, but there are better areas to prospect in this state where you will find more gold.

Are there sharks in Lake Erie?

There are no sharks in Lake Erie," pronounces Officer James Mylett of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

What is the biggest fish in Lake Erie?

Muskellunge. The king of freshwater fish, the Muskellunge, can grow up to 54 inches in the great lakes. One was caught on the New York side of Lake Erie.

Why is Lake Erie water brown?

The discoloration, which appears as a yellow to light brown tint, is due to hypoxic Lake Erie water coming into our Nottingham Water Treatment Plant. Hypoxic water can have elevated levels of manganese, which is a mineral that naturally occurs in rocks, soil, and many types of food.

How deep is a salt mine?

Underground salt mine, Reno County. Salt is mined in Kansas using two methods: underground mining and solution mining. Underground mines in Kansas range in depth from 500 to 1,000 feet. With the underground room-and-pillar method of mining, a shaft is drilled through overlying rock to reach the salt deposit.

What does a salt mine smell like?

Does it smell? Just a little stale and dusty, which sticks to your clothes and your hair. A single fan pushes fresh air through the mine and channels the dusty air, polluted with diesel fumes, back up to the surface.

How hot is it in a salt mine?

The mine temperature stays around 60°Fahrenheit (16° Celsius) year round, so it's warmer than the surface in the winter and cooler than the surface in the summer. What is the room and pillar method of mining? The room and pillar method of mining is a way to excavate material while supporting the ceiling.

Where is the largest salt mine in the United States?

Livingston County, New York, location of American Rock Salt, the largest operating salt mine in the United States with a capacity for producing up to 18,000 tons each day.

Where is the world's largest salt mine located?

Locations. Compass Minerals' Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world. The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. It has operated since 1959 and was acquired by Compass Minerals in 1990.

Which Great Lake is the deepest?

About the Lakes

It contains almost 3,000 cubic miles of water, an amount that could fill all the other Great Lakes plus three additional Lake Eries. With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes.

Is there an underground lake under Lake Superior?

As we determined this past week with several arduous dives, the caves lead to a vast underground lake. This is undoubtedly Sir Duluth's 'Lac d'Enfer,' and the same lake which swallowed poor William Bitter in 1870.

Can ships go from the Great Lakes to the ocean?

The St. Lawrence Seaway allows navigable shipping from the GLW to the Atlantic Ocean, while the Illinois Waterway extends commercial shipping to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The Great Lakes Waterway is co-administered by the governments of Canada and the United States of America.

Are there crabs in Lake Erie?

It was first reported in the Great Lakes in 1965 where it occasionally shows up in Lakes Ontario and Erie. It appeared in the St. Lawrence River in 2004. No freshwater crab species existed in North America before its arrival.

Is Lake Erie a dead lake?

Although small in volume, Lake Erie is a thriving, productive environment. It has survived challenges brought about by pollution, over-fishing, eutrophication, invasive species and harmful algal blooms.

Is Lake Erie man made or natural?

Lake Erie occupies a basin that was carved out of Earth's crust over millions of years by rivers and glaciers. The oldest rocks from which the basin was carved are about 400 million years old and formed in a tropical ocean reef environment.