Himalayan salt - wikipedia Himalayan salt Salt from Khewra Salt Mine near Khewra, Punjab, Pakistan Himalayan salt is rock salt or halite from the Punjab region of Pakistan, near the Himalayas, but falsely marketed as being from the Himalayas. Numerous health claims have been made concerning himalayan salt, but there 's no scientific evidence that prove these claims. Contents 1 History 2 Mineral composition 3 Uses 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History Although its salt is sometimes marketed as `` Jurassic Sea Salt '', this salt deposit comes from a sea present during the Permian era around 250 million years ago and the Cretaceous era around 105 million years ago. This sea became landlocked and evaporated, leaving a dense salt deposit, colored by a common pink microorganism that had lived in it. Over the next few hundred million years, that deposit ended up at the border of a continental plate, and was pushed up into a mountain range in Pakistan. The concentration of salt near Khewra, Punjab, is said to have been discovered around 326 BC when the troops led by Alexander the Great stopped to rest there and noticed their horses licking the salty rocks. Salt was probably mined there from that time, but the first records of mining are from the Janjua people in the 1200s. Himalayan salt is mostly mined at the Khewra Salt Mine in Khewra, Jhelum District, Punjab, which is situated in the foothills of the Salt Range hill system in the Punjab province of the Pakistan Indo - Gangetic Plain. It is located about 310 km ( 190 mi ) from the Himalayas, 260 km ( 160 mi ) from Lahore, and 298 km ( 185 mi ) from Amritsar, India. Mineral composition Himalayan salt is chemically similar to table salt plus mineral impurities including chromium, iron, zinc, lead, and copper. Some salts mined in the Himalayas are not suitable for use as food or industrial use without purification, due to these impurities. Some salt crystals from the Himalayas have an off - white to transparent color, while impurities in some veins of salt give it a pink, reddish, or beet - red color. Uses Himalayan salt is used to flavor food. There is no evidence that it is healthier than using common table salt. Blocks of salt are also used as serving dishes, baking stones, and griddles. A salt lamp consists of a large salt crystal, often colored, and lit with an electric light or candle inside. Numerous health claims have been made concerning salt objects, but no scientific evidence supports these claims. Salt is also sold in the form of large flat `` rock panels '' used to decorate salt chambers. Himalayan salt Himalayan salt crystals Salt rock lamp See also Food portal Pakistan portal List of edible salts List of topics characterized as pseudoscience References Jump up ^ `` FACT CHECK : Do Salt Lamps Provide Multiple Health Benefits ? ''. Snopes.com. April 8, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Dr Andrew Weil. `` Are Himalayan Salt Lamps Worthwhile ? ''. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` David Avocado 's Himalayan Salt Debunked ''. Bad Science Debunked. January 18, 2016. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017. Jump up ^ Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Update Jump up ^ Maurer, Hermann ( 2016 ). `` Khewra Salt Mines ''. Global Geography. Retrieved 11 August 2017. Jump up ^ Weller, J. Marvyn. `` The Cenozoic History of the Northwest Punjab, in The Journal of Geology, Vol. 36, No. 4 ( May -- June 1928 ), pp. 362 -- 375 ''. JSTOR. Chicago Journals. Retrieved 24 February 2015. Jump up ^ Qazi Muhammad Sharif ; Mumtaz Hussain ; Muhammad Tahir Hussain ( December 2007 ). Viqar Uddin Ahmad ; Muhammad Raza Shah, eds. `` Chemical Evaluation of Major Salt Deposits of Pakistan '' ( PDF ). Journal of the Chemical Society of Pakistan. Chemical Society of Pakistan. 29 ( 26 ) : 570 -- 571. Archived ( PDF ) from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Salt Mines ''. Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Freeman, Shanna. `` How Salt Works ''. HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2014. Jump up ^ Hall, Harriet ( 19 August 2014 ). `` Pass the Salt ( But Not That Pink Himalayan Stuff ) ''. Science - Based Medicine. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Bitterman, Mark ( January 30, 2008 ). `` Safe Heating and Washing Tips for Your Himalayan Salt Block ''. Salt News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Lisa Berger. `` Salt Lamps - Is it a Scam ? ''. Today in Alternative Medicine. Archived from the original on 2012 - 04 - 14. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 23. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Himalayan salt, Salt crystal lanterns and Salt. `` Video : Himalayan Salt Cutting process ''. Folk Market via YouTube. 25 February 2015. hide Salt History History of salt In the American Civil War International Salt Co. v. 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Question: where do the himalayan salt lamps come from
Answer: the Punjab region of Pakistan