There are plenty of cities across America that sit on top of a massive network of tunnels. Not including the thousands of yards of sewage and water pipes, cities like New York City with its massive subway system, or Las Vegas and its massive flood control tunnels that thousands of residents live in below the city.
Everyone knows Detroit as the Motor City, but there’s another secret hiding over one thousand feet beneath the surface. Below the city of Detroit is a massive network of underground tunnels that have been actively used since 1895. The purpose? Salt.
⬇️INSIDE MICHIGAN’S DEEPEST CAVE⬇️
Detroit Salt Mines
Now, as someone who was born and raised in Michigan, I struggle to understand if I have just completely missed something obvious or if the Detroit Salt Mines are a largely underrated component of Michigan. Either way, the mines are a feat of modern engineering that should be highlighted.
In the year 1895, rock salt was discovered in the Detroit area. This rock salt formed some 400 million years ago, but it wasn’t until 1906 that a company, the Detroit Rock Salt Company, tried mining it. In 1910, a 1,060-foot shaft was dug under the city, and within 5 years of the mine opening, it was removing 8,000 tons of rock salt a month.
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