The Salt Axis – Südlohn-Oeding

Imagine…

Two colossal continents gliding very slowly, but unstoppably across the earth’s surface. The ocean between them continuously shrinking until the masses finally meet. Crashing and bursting, a huge mountain range emerges, stone twists and breaks.

The mountains rise higher and higher until their tips are covered with ice. Then, the stone begins to crumble on the surface – glaciers, heavy rains, and raging rivers wash the debris down the slopes into the valleys. The erosion flattens the rising mountains and, after millions of years, all that remains is a hilly landscape.

If you had been in this place three hundred million years ago, you could see the white peaks of this huge mountain range. Neither the Alps nor the Atlantic Ocean existed at that time. The nearest sea lay far beyond these primeval mountains, so moisture could hardly reach this area. As the continental landmasses continued to move, this dry landlocked region continued to sink. A tremendous geological depression extended from England to Lithuania, where the sands and clays gathered after being washed down from the mountains.

It was unpleasant here – hot, dry, and barren, a true Sahara. Wild rivers collected the heavy downpours in the mountains and led the water into enormous lakes, where it concentrated into brine, comparable to the Dead Sea today. The bright white crusts of limestone, gypsum, and salt were blinding.

The process of sinking continued, moving the entire basin even further below sea level. Around 260 million years ago, seawater made its way down through a narrow passage from thousands of kilometers north and very suddenly flooded the entire area. An inland sea replaced the historic landlocked salt lakes, allowing only a small amount of fresh seawater to get through. The climate was so dry that the water evaporated and deposited enormous salt masses within a few million years. This prehistoric salt is extracted here and is used to season our meals today.

And what is left of the old mountain range? Most of it now lies beneath the earth’s surface, with only a few protruding remnants, including the Ardennes, the Eifel, and the Harz.

Imagine it: You don’t have to travel far to find deserts and salt lakes. It’s all there, right beneath your feet.

Dr. Peter Westbroek, Universität Leiden