Salt – California’s Gold (1001)

Many of us who have flown into San Francisco have noticed huge ponds filled with water that ranges in color from deep red to light pink. We decided that we just had to get to the bottom of this California mystery.

When we finally arrived at the “ponds” we found one of California’s most unique agricultures. Salt and brine shrimp are what is responsible for our crimson ponds. 300,000 tons of salt a year to be exact. Salt has been harvested from these ponds since the Gold Rush and has been a very important part of our states history.

Cargill Salt has to be one of the strangest and most beautiful places we have been, and here are a few of the things we found: salt stacks 90 feet high and 880 feet long, hundreds of salt ponds called crystallizers that average 20 to 40 acres in size and one of the few private railroads in the U.S.

With over 14,000 different uses for salt, it is a treat to see where it all comes from. This is a tour that you don’t want to miss.