Rock Salt at Cardona^ in Spain. '57 



there form two appendices of little elevation, -which are only 

 remarkable because they constitute what is properly termed 

 the salt mines of Cardona, and are the seat of the works 

 carried on by the Spanish government. 



These works are the more important as they require but 

 little expense. We shall present an idea of them in a few 

 ■words. 



The workings are carried on in open day, by horizontal 

 cuttings in the shape of steps. Every step is one metre [about 

 3 ft. 3 in.] high, with a similar width. Their length is great 

 enough to allow of ten miners working in the same line. 

 Eight cuttings of this kind are formed one above the other. 

 The rock salt is first blasted by gunpowder, and afterwards 

 finished with the pick axe. The moderately sized parts only 

 are carried away, and are ground in a neighbouring house. 

 The salt, after having been washed, is, without any other 

 preparation, sent to the government magazine. It is stated 

 that salt to the value nearly of one million of francs is 

 annually sold. Without entering into more details, with 

 regard to the advantages derived from the workings of rock 

 salt, we shall again take up the description of the mountain. 

 It has as yet been considered as insulated : it must now be 

 considered with regard to its relations with the secondary 

 rocks that surround it. 



The stratifiication of these rocks is not less easy to observe, 

 less evident, and by contrast less remarkable than that of 

 the salt mountain. All parts of the secondary strata rise 

 towards the centre of the inclosure, that is, those on the 

 north under an angle of near 50°, and those on the east and 

 south under an angle from 20° to 30° ; so that supposing 

 tiiem to be prolonged, they would cover the vertical edges 

 of the saline and gypsum beds- 

 it is necessary to walk along the foot of the escarpments 

 in the circus, in order to observe the immediate superposi- 

 tion. The base of the salt mountain is seen in numerous 

 situations to dip and disappear under the strata of the 

 secondary formation ; the heaps of debris of thes« same 

 strata elsewhere shew that they have fallen and crumbled in 



