世界最大的盐矿之一存在于伊利湖下。

世界最大的盐矿之一存在于伊利湖下。
One of the largest salt mines in the world exists under Lake Erie

原始链接: https://apnews.com/article/cleveland-salt-mine-winter-road-0daf091e3d56f65766bcf6a597683893

克利夫兰地下，嘉吉威士忌岛盐矿正不知疲倦地工作，以满足东北部和五大湖地区异常高的融雪盐需求，原因是比往年更严酷的冬季。这个巨大的矿井位于地下1800英尺处，由古代干涸的海域形成，每年开采300万至400万吨盐。矿工们钻孔、爆破，并通过错综复杂的隧道输送着4.4亿年前的盐，每天生产约11,000至14,000吨的融雪剂。嘉吉报告称，自9月以来一直在加班加点，以应对减少的市政供应和频繁的暴风雪。尽管需求增加，主管乔治·坎贝尔保证，矿井仍有数十年的储备。该矿井通过卡车、铁路和船只向多个州分发盐，优先向需求最大的地区供应，以应对持续的冬季天气。

## 艾利湖盐矿及相关讨论 - 摘要一篇近期文章指出，世界最大的湖泊之一艾利湖下存在着一个巨大的盐矿。这引发了黑客新闻的讨论，并延伸到盐矿安全、历史灾难和盐矿开采实践等相关话题。用户回忆了1980年路易斯安那州的佩格纳湖灾难，钻探引发了盐矿地下塌陷。人们也对盐矿附近的土地开发和沉孔问题表示担忧，例如纽约州卡尤加湖下的盐矿，附近房产所有者需要签署免责声明。对话涉及了盐矿通风的复杂性以及盐矿开采的独特挑战。有趣的是，休伦湖拥有全球*最大*的盐矿。讨论还涵盖了盐的历史重要性（推荐阅读：马克·库兰斯基的《盐》）和当前的开采方法，包括蒸发池。最后，用户们辩论了在盐矿中度过时间对健康的潜在益处（盐疗法）以及盐矿开采的整体安全性，并指出盐层结构的稳定性。

原文

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — Below Cleveland, in a subterranean world many surface dwellers don’t know exists, miners extract a crucial winter mineral — salt.

The Whiskey Island salt mine, owned by food giant Cargill, helps supply road salt across the Northeast and Great Lakes, where a colder, snowier-than-usual winter has driven demand. Many municipalities exhausted supplies that typically last through spring, said Cargill spokesperson Emily Tangeman.

“Our teams have been working overtime since September to support customers across the snowbelt,” Tangeman said in a statement, noting that early, persistent winter weather boosted demand across the industry.

George Campbell, maintenance supervisor, walks down an incline in the shop at the Cargill salt mine on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The salt, formed 440 million years ago, is mucked up and loaded onto a conveyor belt 1,800 feet below the surface of Lake Erie, in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

A worker repairs machinery used to muck the salt, in the shop at the Cargill salt mine on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The mine beneath Lake Erie, one of the world’s largest, produces 3 million to 4 million tons (2.7 million to 3.6 million metric tons) annually, although that can fall short of demand in especially harsh winters.

Located 1,800 feet (549 meters) underground, it’s accessed from Whiskey Island, an industrial area on the shore right beside downtown Cleveland. The mine opened in the 1960s and operates year-round, with salt extracted by drilling and blasting through vast tunnels formed from an ancient inland sea that dried up millions of years ago.

Inside, the mine is a maze of roughly rectangular caverns with chalky white walls and ceilings that extend for miles. It’s dimly lit and often pitch-black beyond the glare of headlamps and floodlights. Heavy machinery and conveyer belts rumble as small ATVs whisk miners around.

The finished product, de-icing solution - rock salt - approximately 11,000 - 14,000 tons per day, is transported by conveyor belt to a skip which will take it to the surface at the Cargill salt mine on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Relief holes are drilled into a face in the Cargill salt mine, 1,800 feet below the surface of Lake Erie, in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The salt, formed 440 million years ago, is mucked up and loaded onto a conveyor belt 1,800 feet below Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The absolute darkness of the mine is broken as supervisor Andrew Adkins uses a headlamp to lookover a map of drilling sites at the Cargill Salt Mine, 1,800 feet below the surface of Lake Erie, in Cleveland, Ohio, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Maintenance superintendent George Campbell said operations are continuous, with downtime used for upkeep and repairs to keep production steady. Cargill said it is prioritizing shipments to ensure salt reaches the areas of greatest need as winter lingers in some regions. Frequent smaller storms also increase usage, Tangeman said in the statement, requiring repeated salting and creating logistical challenges.

A return to harsher conditions across the Eastern U.S. meant some cities — including Boston; Bangor, Maine; and Ithaca, New York — shivered through their coldest seasons in more than a decade. And winter weather is still not over in some parts of the country, so it’s not over in the Cleveland mine, either.

Campbell said there’s still decades of salt left to be extracted.

“I think that we have enough reserves to continue to keep people working for a long time,” Campbell said.