Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 February 1919 — Lake of Salt in Australia Supplies an Immense Crop Carts and Plows Are Used [ARTICLE]

Lake of Salt in Australia Supplies an Immense Crop Carts and Plows Are Used

In South Australia there' is a wonderful lake of pure salt. It is a huge depression In the earth which fills up in the winter months. In the summer the water quickly evaporates, leaving a thick deposit of pure salt. Seen from a distance the surface of the lake has all the appearance of being covered with a sheet of Ice. The sglt is so thick that strong men and even carts and plows can traverse it with perfect safety. Yet below the crust there is a considerable body of sluggish water. After the rays of the summeg sun have played their part, the salt is gathered. This is a simple operation, the salt being raked into heaps, making pyramids that are a striking feature of the landscape. The salt is then shoveled into carts and conveyed to various works to undergo the process of refining. Gathering the salt is trying work on account of the great heat and the dazzling reflection, and it is often necessary for the workers to wear colored glasses to protect their eyes. After the loose salt has been collected from the surface a plow is run over it, when another harvest of the valuable material can be reaped. The yield of salt from this strange lake amounts to several thousand tons a year, end it is among the finest obtainable. The lake is several square miles in area and is naturally a very valuable property.