A brine spring or salt spring is a
saltwater
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water ...
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...
.
Brine springs are not necessarily associated with
halite
Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, p ...
deposits in the immediate vicinity. They may occur at valley bottoms made of clay and gravel which became soggy with brine seeped downslope from the valley sides.
Historically, brine springs have been early sources of U.S. salt production, as in the case of the
salterns
A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also oth ...
in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester.
At the 2020 census, the city's ...
and at the
Illinois Salines
The Illinois Salines, also known as the Saline Springs or Great Salt Springs, is a salt spring site located along the Saline River in Gallatin County, Illinois. The site was a source of salt for Illinois' prehistoric settlers and is now an arch ...
.
See also
*
Saline seep A saline seep is seep of saline water, with an area of alkali salt crystals that form when the salty water reaches the surface and evaporates. Various types of water movement form saline seeps, including capillary action from a water table under th ...
*
Salt lick
A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that fa ...
*
Mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...
References
Salts
Springs (hydrology)
*
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