Rock salt

Name Variations

 * ice cream salt
 * halite
 * sidewalk salt
 * land salt

About rock salt
Wikipedia Article About Rock salt on Wikipedia

Halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride, NaCl, commonly known as rock salt. Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is colourless to white, light blue, dark blue, and pink. It commonly occurs with other evaporite deposit minerals, such as several of the sulfates, halides, and borates.

Halite occurs in vast beds of sedimentary evaporite minerals that result from the drying up of enclosed lakes, playas, and seas. Salt beds will be up to 350 m 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.