13.1 What is salt?
Sodium chloride or common salt is the chemical compound NaCl. It occurs naturally in many parts of the world as the mineral halite and as mixed evaporites in salt lakes. Seawater contains an average of 2.6% (by weight) NaCl, or 26 million metrictons cubic kilometer (120 million short tons per cubic mile, an inexhaustible supply.
Underground salt deposits are found in both sedimentary and domal deposits.