Strataca

Strataca, also known as Kansas Underground Salt Museum, is located in Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. It is built within one of the world’s largest deposits of rock salt and provides the opportunity to go 650 feet (198 meters) beneath the Earth’s surface. It is a unique destination attraction for exploring an environs carved from salt deposits formed 275 million years ago. The museum is located in the Hutchinson Salt Company mine which began operation in 1923 as Carey Salt Company. There are 14 other salt mines in the United States, but none of them are accessible to tourists.

History

The Salt Mining Industry in Hutchinson

A vast expanse underground, the Hutchinson Salt Company mine covers about 980 acres. If one were to consecutively line up each excavated area, the chamber would stretch for 150 miles (107 km). Natural pillars of solid rock salt 40 feet square are left intact to support each corridor or “room”.

Since 1923, Hutchinson Salt Company (formerly Carey Salt) has produced rock salt by the room and pillar mining fashion, which begins with a shaft sunk through the overlying rock to the salt deposit. The salt is removed in a checkerboard pattern, in which large square caverns alternate with square pillars of salt that serve as support for the rock above. This pattern of mining also provides fresh, ventilated air in worker-occupied areas.