Everything about Rock Salt totally explained
Halite is the
mineral form of
sodium chloride,
NaCl, commonly known as
rock salt. Halite forms
isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colourless to yellow, but may also be light blue, dark blue, and pink. It commonly occurs with other
evaporite deposit minerals such as several of the
sulfates,
halides and
borates.
Occurrence
Halite occurs in vast beds of
sedimentary evaporite minerals that result from the drying up of
enclosed lakes,
playas, and seas. Salt beds may be up to 405 meters thick and underlie broad areas. In the
United States and
Canada extensive underground beds extend from the
Appalachian basin of western
New York through parts of
Ontario and under much of the
Michigan Basin. Other deposits are in
Ohio,
Kansas,
New Mexico,
Nova Scotia and
Saskatchewan.
Salt domes are vertical
diapirs or pipe-like masses of salt that have been essentially "squeezed up" from underlying salt beds by mobilization due to the weight of overlying rock. Salt domes contain
anhydrite,
gypsum, and native
sulfur, in addition to halite and
sylvite. They are common along the
Gulf coasts of
Texas and
Louisiana and are often associated with
petroleum deposits.
Germany,
Spain, the
Netherlands,
Romania and
Iran also have salt domes. Salt glaciers exist in arid Iran where the salt has broken through the surface at high elevation and flows downhill. In all of these cases, halite is said to be behaving in the manner of a
rheid.
Unusual, purple, fibrous vein filling halite is found in
France and a few other localities. Halite crystals termed
hopper crystals appear to be "skeletons" of the typical cubes, with the edges present and stairstep depressions on, or rather in, each crystal face. In a rapidly crystallizing environment the edges of the cubes simply grow faster than the centers. Halite crystals form very quickly in some rapidly evaporating lakes resulting in modern artefacts with a coating or encrustation of halite crystals.
Halite flowers are rare
stalactites of curling fibers of halite that are found in certain arid caves of
Australia's Nullarbor Plain. Halite stalactites and encrustations are also reported in the Quincy
native copper mine of
Hancock, Michigan.
Uses
Halite is often used both residentially and municipally for managing ice. Because saline (a solution of water and salt) has a lower freezing point than ordinary water, putting salt on ice will cause it to melt. It is common for homeowners in cold climates to spread 'rock salt' on their walkways and sometimes driveways after a snow storm to melt the ice. It isn't necessary to use so much salt that the ice is completely melted; rather, a small amount of salt will weaken the ice so that it can be easily removed with other means. Also, many cities will spread a mixture of sand and salt on roads during and after a snowstorm to improve traction.
Rock salt is also used to make
ice cream. It isn't actually used in the ice cream mixture; rather, it's used to melt the ice surrounding the can holding the ice cream, causing the ice to melt at a lower temperature, thus lowering the temperature of the ice bath and quickening the freezing process.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rock Salt'.
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