Where is khewra

The Khewra Salt Mines in comparison are turning out This is barely even a dent in the massive salt stores here which are said to be close to 7 billion tons.

Covering an area of km 2 , the massive mine has over 40 kilometers of tunnels running some meters into the mountain under which the salt deposits are found. One of the tunnels open for tourists in the mine. The crystals in the walls and roof are lit by different colors of light. Indeed it is reported that a horse of Alexander the Great discovered the salt: In BC, Alexander the Great, conquering an empire ranging from Europe into Africa and Asia, was making his way across Pakistan. Seeing that all the horses were doing so, a soldier himself tried one and found that the rocks were quite salty.

The Khewra salt deposits had been discovered. Even here nature is "enhanced" by changing colours, mainly for the benefit of children visiting with their school classes Photo: H. If water dissolves it and it crystallizes again, it is usually white, although in rare cases clear glass-like pieces can also be found Photo: H.

It is often sold as "Himalayan salt" and the impurities are said to improve the taste. To keep the huge space from collapsing, only fifty percent of the salt found is mined; the other half serves as support columns to hold up the mine.

With such a massive area, a large workforce, and the ease of carving and building with salt bricks,it is not suprising that some interesting sights have been built within the salt mine. Among the earliest structure built within the mine is the small Shahi Mosque, complete with a small salt minaret. Both the mosque and the miniatures are built from salt bricks, which vary in color from red to pink to white, and which are now lighted electrically and radiate a beautiful warm glow.

At times, the many colors and bricks of light give the mine a sort of disco-Yellow-Brick-Road look. Among other problems the excessive sodium intake causes serious problems. While salt is now plentiful, until the Industrial Revolution it was difficult to come by, and salt mining was often done by slave or prison labor. Life expectancy among those sentenced was low. It is carved out of the Zipaquira salt mines which have been in use since 5th century BCE. The Cathedral was carved out of an active salt mine in after being inspired by a small cathedral erected in the mines by workers.

The original cathedral was inaugurated in However, authorities shut down the working cathedral in after concerns were raised about structural soundness in an active mine.

However, the local town was undeterred and began building another cathedral feet below the previous one, completing it in The current cathedral is 75 meters long, 25 meters high and has a giant cross carved on the back wall. Approximately 10, people can be fit into the cathedral at capacity, and it attracts 3, plus visitors on most Sundays.

The Asse Salt Mine has been at the forefront of much controversy in the past decade. It was once a set of mines where both potassium and rock salt were excavated from After the site closed, the state took it over to test the concept of storing radioactive waste. From to approximately , barrels of low-level and medium-level radioactive waste were stored in the mines.

However, in some media reports disclosed that contaminated brine had been pumped deep into the lowest part of the mine caverns. This was because the groundwater of the region was breaching the caverns, raising the possibility of corroding the barrels with rust and causing leakage into the water.

This was especially concerning if the mine flooded. There is a worry that the caverns will collapse completely. In , it was decided to remove the barrels, which could take years. However, there is a risk to local residents from exposure that may make it more feasible to leave the barrels down there. These Peruvian salt terraces were once a precious asset of the Inca.

An underground spring that feeds on waters of the mountain range carries heavy silts and salts which collects in the cliffside ponds. The salt is then harvested by native people. Access to the ponds is incredibly difficult, as workers much traverse the Urubamba valley.

The crevasses are enough to make all but the most adventurous of travelers turn back. The rich pink salt produced from this Peruvian valley once supplied ancient Incan capitals, and the channels used to inundate the terraces that were built by the Inca are still used. Because parts of the Danakil are under feet under sea level, forming a volcano-rimmed cauldron which reaches below degrees in the summer.

However, the Afar people still venture into the cauldron early in the morning, when it is just degrees Celsius to extract blocks of salt from the mm thick layer.

The salt blocks were once used as a unit of money in Ethiopia, and are now sold across the country. They often supply farmers who use them to give livestock necessary minerals. Its history dates back to its discovery by Alexander's troops in BC, but it started trading in the Mughal era.

The main tunnel at ground level was developed by Dr. Warth, a mining engineer, in , during British rule. Estimates of the reserves of salt in the mine vary from 82 million tons to million tons. In February Pakistan railways started operating special trains for tourists from Lahore and Rawalpindi to Khewra.

For this purpose the railway station of Khewra was refurbished.