DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

HUBERT WORK, Secretary

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director 

Bulletin 717

SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES

BY

ROGER C. WELLS

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1 923
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COPY FOR PROFIT. PUB. RES. 57, APPROVED MAY 11, 1922
CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction ____ _____ ________________ 1

Demand 1

Forms ____ __ __ _. 1

Uses . 1

Mineralogy of principal compounds of sodium sulphate _ 2

Mirabilite_________________________________ 2

Thenardite__ __ _______________ _______. 2

Aphthitalite_______________________________ 3

Bloedite __ __ _________________. 3

Glauberite ____________ _______________________. 4-

Hanksite __ ______ ______ ___________ 4

Miscellaneous minerals _ __________ ______ 5

Solubility of sodium sulphate *.___. 5

. Transition temperature of sodium sulphate______ ___________ 6

Reciprocal salt pair, sodium sulphate and potassium chloride____ 7

Relations at 0° C___________________________ 8

Relations at 25° C__________________________. 9

Relations at 50° C__________________________. 10

Relations at 75° and 100° C_____________________ 11

Salt cake__________ _.____________ __ 13

Glauber's salt 15

Niter cake_ __ ____ ______ 16

Natural sodium sulphate _____ _ _ __ 17

Origin_____________________________________ 17

Deposits __ ______ _______________ 18

Arizona . 18

California________________________________ 19

Colorado _ L_______________ 21

Idaho __________________________________ 21

Nevada __ _ _____________ _ _ ____ 21

New Mexico _____________________________ 24

Oregon _________ __ _______ _ 26

Texas __ ___ ______ , 27

Utah___________________________________ 27

Washington ______________________________ 28

Wyoming _______ ___ ___________ 28

Canada ______ ____ ___ ____ 31

Mexico__________________________ ____ 31

South America _ 31

Africa ____________ _~________ 31

Asia_______________________________ 32

Europe ___ _____ _ _ _ 33

Sulphate process of making wood pulp 33

Sodium sulphide 36
IV CONTENTS.

Page.

Use of sodium sulphate in glass making__________________ 36 

Prospecting permits and mining leases____________________ 36 

Survey publications relating to sodium sulphate _______________ 40

Index______ _ 41

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

FIGURE 1. Mirabilite_________________________________ 2

2. Thenardite______________________________ 3

3. Glauberite______________________________ 4

4. Hanksite_________________________________ 5

5. Solubility of sodium sulphate in water_____________ 5

6. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 0° C_________ 8

7. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 25° C________ 9

8. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 50° C ___ __ 10

9. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 75° C___ __ 11

10. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 100° C_________ 12

11. Prices of salt cake per ton in the New York chemical market- 14

12. Map showing alkali flat in Dona Ana County, N. Mex____ 25

13. Schematic outline of the sulphate process of making wood

pulp___________________________________ 34
SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

By EOGER C. WELLS.

INTRODUCTION.

Demand. The recent demand for sodium sulphate for export has 

greatly stimulated the search for deposits of the natural salt in several 

of the Western States, and so many requests for information about 

the sources and uses of sodium sulphate have come to the United 

States Geological Survey that it has appeared desirable to publish 

a brief summary of the information available. The foreign demand 

has come chiefly from Sweden and Canada, where sodium sulphate 

is used in the sulphate process of making wood pulp that goes into 

the manufacture of kraft paper. The normal source of sodium sulphate for Sweden was Germany, but since the war the supply from 

that source has; not been adequate. The domestic demand in the 

United States has also tended to increase, whereas the production of 

calcined salt cake, the principal form in which sodium sulphate 

enters trade, has tended to decrease, as will be explained more fully 

later.

Forms, Sodium sulphate is handled in trade in three forms 

salt cake, Glauber's salt, and niter cake. It occurs in nature as 

Glauber's salt, which is known mineralogically as mirabilite, and as 

the anhydrous sulphate, thenardite, and it is a constituent of a number of compound minerals, such as glauberite, vanthoffite, bloedite, 

and aphthitalite, and of the waters of many natural brines and playa 

lakes.

In areas where rainfall is scanty sodium sulphate is termed white 

alkali in contras^ to sodium carbonate, which is termed black alkali 

on account of its corrosive action on vegetation.

Uses. In the form of salt cake sodium sulphate is used in making 

wood pulp by the sulphate process, plate glass, window glass, and 

bottles, water glass, sodium sulphide, and precipitated barium sulphate (blanc fixe). One of the early patents for ore flotation by the 

Delprat process was based on the use of acid and salt cake.

Glauber's salt is used in dyeing, in tanning, and medicinally, especially for the treatment of cattle as a constituent of so-called stock 

feeds.
2 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

. Niter cake is used as a substitute for sulphuric acid for many purposes, as in metal pickling, in absorbing ammonia, and in making 

fertilizers.

Some details about the use of sodium sulphate in making glass, 

sodium sulphide, and wood pulp are given on pages 33-36.

MINERALOGY OF PRINCIPAL COMPOUNDS OF SODIUM

SULPHATES

*

Mirabilite. Hydrated sodium sulphate, Na2S04 .10H20. Composition, sodium sulphate (Na2S04), 44.1 per cent; water (H20), 55.9 

per cent. Crystals monoclinic: Axial ratio, a:6:c = 1.1158:l: 

L2372;|3 = 72 0 15'=(001) A (100), (100) A (110) =46° 44', (001) A 

(101) =57° 55', (001) A (Oil) =49° 41'; common forms, a (100), & 

(010), c (001), ra (110), r (TOl); habit, long prismatic, almost needlelike, elongated parallel to & axis, also short, stout prismatic, elongated 

parallel to vertical axis c (somewhat resembling borax). Cleavage, a

FIGURE 1. Mirabilite.

perfect. Hardness, 1.5-2. Specific gravity, 1.48. Colorless transparent to white opaque. Luster, vitreous. Indices of refraction: 

a = 1.394; |8 = 1.396; 7 = 1.398. Optically negative. Axial plane and 

acute bisectrix normal to 6 (010). Axial angle very large, cross dispersion very strong, no extinction in white light. Taste slightly 

bitter. Very readily soluble in water.

The long prismatic crystals of mirabilite shown in Figure 1 are 

very characteristic; they readily effloresce in dry air, losing their water 

and falling to a white powder.

Thenardite. Anhydrous sodium sulphate, Na2S04 . Composition, 

sodium oxide (Na20), 56.3 per cent; sulphur trioxide (S08), 43.7 

per cent. Crystals orthorhombic: Axial ratio, °a : & : c = 0.5976: 

1 : 1.2524; (100) A (110) =30° 52', (001) A (101) = 64° 30', (001) A) 

(Oil) =51° 24'; common forms, c (001), a (110), m (110), o (111), 

£'(106). Twinning planes (101) and (Oil); habit, in pyramidal and 

tabular crystals, commonly in crossed twins. Cleavage, basal 

distinct. Hardness, 2.5. Specific gravity, 2.68. Color, white, 

gray, or brownish. Transparent to translucent. Indices of refraction: a =1.464; (3 = 1.474; 7 = 1.485. Optically positive. Axial

i Prepared with the assistance of W. T Schaller, of the United States Geological Survey. Indices of 

refraction by E. S. Larsen, also of the Geological Survey.
MINERALOGY OF PRINCIPAL COMPOUNDS. 3

plane parallel to (001); acute bisectrix normal to & (010). Axial 

angle nearly 90°, p>V perceptible. Very soluble in water. Taste 

faintly saline.

The twin crystals (Fig. 2), are very characteristic, but the mineral 

also occurs massive without any distinct individual crystal form.

FIGURE 2. Thenardite.

AphtTiitdlite. Double sulphate of sodium and potassium, 

(Na,K) 2S04 . Composition, sodium sulphate (Na2S04), generally 

21-38 per cent; potassium sulphate (K2S04), 62-78 per cent. Crystals 

hexagonal rhombohedral: Axial ratio c= 1,2839; (0001) A(10Tl) = 

56° 0(T, (0001) A(1012) =36° 33'; common forms c (0001), m (10TO), 

e (10T2); habit rhombohedral, commonly thin tabular, also hi 

pseudohexagonal repeated twins. Cleavage, m distinct. Hardness, 

3-3.5. Specific gravity, 2.64. Colorless to white, tinged with blue 

or green. Luster, vitreous, inclining to resinous. Transparent to 

opaque. Optically uniaxial positive. Indices of refraction, slightly 

variable with composition w = 1.49; e = 1.50. Soluble in water. 

Taste, saline, bitter, and disagreeable.

Bloedite. Hydrated double sulphate of sodium and magnesium, 

Na2S04 .MgSO4 .4H20. Composition, sodium sulphate (Na2S04), 42.5 

per cent; magnesium sulphate (MgSOJ, 36.0 per cent; water (H20), 

21.5 per cent. Crystals monoclinic: Axial ratio, a : & : c = 1.3494 : 1 : 

0.6705; 0 = 79° 22'= (001) A (100), (100) A (110) =52° 59', (001) A 

(T01)=28° 16', (001) A (Oil) =33° 23'; common forms, a (100), 

& (OiO), c (001), m (110), 6 (Oil), p (111), g (201); habit, short prismatic to thick tabular parallel to c (001). Cleavage, none. Hardness, 2.5. Specific gravity, 2.25. Colorless transparent to black, 

green, red, and other colors due to impurities. Luster, vitreous; 

clear, glassy colorless fragments resemble quartz fragments in 

appearance. Indices of refraction: a = 1.486, /3 = 1.488, 7 = 1.489. 

Optically negative. Axial plane parallel to & (010). Axial angle, 

2V = 71°; p greater than violet, strong.
4 SODIUM SULPHATE : ITS SOURCES AND. USES.

Some crystals are covered with a large number of crystal faces, 

and single crystals weighing a pound are occasionally found. The 

mineral also occurs granular, massive, and some varieties show a 

fibrous character.

Glauberite. Anhydrous sodium-calcium sulphate, Na2S04 .CaS04. 

Composition, sodium sulphate (Na2S04), 51.1 per cent; calcium sulphate (CaSOJ, 48.9 percent. Crystals monoclinic: Axial ratio, a : & : 

c= 1.2200 :1 : 1.0275; 0 = 67°49' = (001) A (100); (100) A (110) =48° 

29'; (001) A (101) =30° 37'; (001) A (Oil) =43° 34'; (001) A (110) = 

75° 30'; (001) A (111) =43? 02'; common forms, a (100), c (001), m 

(110), s (111); habit, short and long prismatic by extension of pyramidal faces s (111), also thin tabular parallel to the base c (001), faces 

commonly striated parallel to intersection of c (001), s (111), and 

m (110). Cleavage, basal perfect. Fracture, conchoidaL Hardness, 2.5-3. Specific gravity, 2.7-2.85. Colorless, white, gray,

c 

B

FIGURE 3. Glauberite.

pale yellow, or red. Streak, white. Luster, vitreous. Transparent 

to translucent. Indices of refraction: «= 1.515, 0 = 1.532, 7 = 1.536, 

Optically negative. Axial plane normal to (010) but varying with 

temperature. Axial angle very small but changing rapidly with 

slight change in temperature.

Glauberite whitens in pure water, owing to the solution of sodium 

sulphate and deposition of gypsum. Crystals have been noted in 

Saline Valley and Death Valley, Calif.2 (See Fig. 3.)

Hanksite. A triple salt, 9Na2S04 .2Na2C03 .KCl. Composition, 

sodium sulphate (Na2S04), 81.7 per cent; sodium carbonate 

(Na2C03), 13.5 per cent; potassium chloride (KC1), 4.8 per cent. 

Crystals hexagonal: Axial ratio, c = 1.0140; (0001)_ A (1011) = 

49° 30'; common forms, c (0001), m (1010), o (10T1), s (2021); 

habit, tabular, prismatic and pyramidal, resembling crystals of 

quartz. Cleavage, basal distinct. Hardness, 3 3.5. Specific gravity, 2.56. Colorless to white, gray, yellow, often clouded by impurities. Luster, vitreous. Transparent to opaque. Optically uni-

> Gale, H. S., Salines in southeastern California: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 580, p. 303,1915.
SOLUBILITY.

axial, negative. Indices of refraction: w = 1.481, e = 1.461. Readily 

soluble in water, effervescing with acids. (See Fig. 4.)

FIGURE 4. Hanksite.

Miscellaneous minerals. The following minerals contain sodium 

sulphate but not enough to be of any value at present:

Ferronatrite..................3Na2S04 .Fe2 (S04 )3 .6H20.

Loeweite.....................2Na2S04 .2MgS04 .5H20.

Mendozite....................Na2S04 .Al2 (S04 )3 .24H20.

Natrochalcite................Na2S04 .Cu4 (OH)2(S04 )2 .2H20.

Natrojarosite..................Na2S£)4 .2Fe2 (OH)4S04 .

Sideronatrite..................2Na2S04 .Fe2(OH)2 (S04 )2 .6H20.

Sulphohalite................. ,2Na2S04 .NaCl.NaF (slightly soluble).

Tamarugite...................Na2S04 .Al2(S04 )3 .12H20.

SOLUBILITY OF SODIUM SULPHATE.

The solubility of sodium sulphate is of interest geologically in 

connection with the natural occurrence of the minerals and waters

60

X 40

J25

W) 

a 20

|.5

<

§ IO

7

7-

0 10 2O 3O 40 50 60 70 80 9O 100 

TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES CENTIGRADE'

FIGURE -5. Solubility of sodium sulphate in water.

that contain it and also technically in reference to methods of extraction and separation from the mixtures in which it occurs.

The solubility curve of pure sodium sulphate, based on the data 

given in Table 1, is shown in Figure 5.

35576 23 2
SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES. 

TABLE }. Solubility of sodium sulphate intvater:

Temperature 

CO.).

- 1.2

- 3.55

0

10

15

20

25

30

0

10

20

26

. 18

20

24.4

25

30

32.383

35

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Solid phase.

Tee and Glauber's salt .................

Ice and Na2S04.7H2O .................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

Na2SO4 .7H2O. .........................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

NajSO«................................

.....do.................................

Na2SO4 .7H2 0 and Na2SO4 .............

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

Glauber's salt and Na2SO<. ............

NajSO*. ................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

....do................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

.....do.................................

Grams anhydrous 

NasSOi 

to 100 

grams 

HsO.

4.0

U K

5.0

q n

1<* 9

19 4

28.0

40.0

19 6

30.5

55.0

53.3

52.8

51.8

51.5

50.4

49.4

48.2

46.8

44.5

43.7

42.9

42.7

Authority.

\De Coppet, Zeitschr. physikal. Chemie,

/ vol. 22, p. 239, 1897.

Kichards and Wells, Zeitschr. physikal

Chemie, vol. 43. p. 465, 1903.

Gay-Lussac, Annaleschimie et phys., vol.

11, p. 312, 1819.

In Figure 5 the line AB shows the depression of the freezing point 

of pure water on the introduction of sodium sulphate. At the point 

B the solution becomes saturated with the decahydrate, mirabilite, 

or Glauber's salt, the solubility curve of which is the line BF. If 

by chance the solution is not inoculated with the decahydrate the 

freezing point may fall to the point C, which is the intersection 

point of the solubility curve of the heptahydrate, shown by the 

dotted line. The heptahydrate is unstable in the presence of the 

decahydrate.

TRANSITION TEMPERATURE OF SODIUM SULPHATE.

The point G, Figure 5, which is the intersection point of the 

solubility curve of the decahydrate and the anhydrous salt, is 

also the transition point of the decahydrate into anhydrous salt 

and its saturated solution. This transition, which is a chemical 

change accompanied by an absorption of heat, takes place at 32.38° C. 

if the salts involved are pure; but the transition temperature, or 

temperature of equilibrium of the two phases, is lowered by the presence of impurities, and when the solution is saturated with other 

salts it is lowered very considerably, as shown in Table 2.
SOLUBELiry.

TABLE 2. Transition temperature of sodium sulphate ivith and without the 

presence of certain other salts.

Solid phase.

NasSO<.10H20, NasSO*............... ........................

NazSOUOHsO, NasSO*. aphthitalite ..........................

NasSOUOHsO.NajSO^NaCl.................................

Na2SO<.1032O, Na2SO<, NaCl, aphthitalite. ...................

Transition 

temperature (°C.).

32.383

30.1

17.9

16.3

Authority. .

Richards and Wells.

Myerhoffer and Saunders.

Do.

Do.

RECIPROCAL SALT PAIR, SODIUM SULPHATE AND POTASSIUM

CHLORIDE.

The above figures show how greatly the solubility of a single 

salt may be influenced by the presence of other salts. To show the 

many possible relations in such associations, physical chemists are 

accustomed to employ diagrams that reveal at a glance the fields of 

saturation of the several salts in mixtures. For the sake of simplicity, however, such diagrams are generally restricted to show the 

relations of not more than four components at one time. Among 

such combinations the so-called reciprocal salt pairs have been extensively investigated; these constitute a special class in which the 

composition of the solutions can be expressed in terms of three salts. 

One of the most thoroughly studied reciprocal salt pairs is that of 

sodium sulphate and potassium chloride, which will be discussed 

here in detail, as studied by Myerhoffer and Saunders 3 and more 

recently by W. C. Blasdale.4

The two salts mentioned may undergo a double decomposition, 

thus,

Na 2S04 -f2KCl=K2S04+2NaCl

Besides these four simple salts there are the hydrate, Glauber's 

salt, and the double salt, (Na, K) 2S04 , aphthitalite, to be considered. 

As will be seen from the tables the composition of any solution containing these salts can be expressed in terms of three salts, for the 

quantity of the fourth salt can always be expressed as equal to two 

of the others minus the third; thus for NaCl,

NaCl=Na2S044-2KCl-K2S04

Similar data for solutions saturated with bloedite, glauberite, 

kieserite, polyhalite, and other salts are to be found in the papers 

of Van't Hoff and his collaborators. The best collection of data is 

" TJntersuchungen iiber die Bildungsverhaltnisse der ozeanischen 

Salzablagerungen," edited by Precht and Cohen, published at Leipzig in 1912. ; (

8 Zeitschr. physlkal. Chemie, vol. 28, p. 453; vol. 31, p. 370, 1899. 

« Jour. Ind. Bng. Chemistry, vol. 10, p. 344, 1918.
SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

Relations at 0° G. The composition of solutions saturated with 

<one or more of the salts involved at 0° C. is given in Table 3, first 

as grams per 100 grams of water, and second as gram-molecules, or 

Na2j£i2 mols, per 1,000 mols of water. The 

second form of expression is necessary 

in constructing the diagram, Figure .6. 

In constructing this diagram, in which 

the concentration of the salts is plotted 

in the respective directions, when the 

solution is stated to contain three salts, 

the figures for the solubility of one of 

the salts must necessarily be subtracted; 

to this extent the representation is conventional, and the solubility of single 

salts in the mixtures can not be read 

directly from the diagram unless the 

total number of mols present is known. 

If desired, however, the totals may be represented by perpendiculars 

to the plane of the diagram, giving a solid model from which the 

solubilities of the single salts can be derived for all possible mixtures.

TABLE 3. Composition of solutions saturated with certa/in salts at 0° C.

In grams per 100 grams of water.

FIGURE 6. Equilibrium diagram 

of certain salts at 0° C. Figures indicate mols per 1,000 

inols of water.

Ai 

B! 

Ci 

Di 

Fi 

G, 

Hi

£

Ni ?:

Saturated with 

N&iSOt.. .....................................

KjS04 .. ......................................

KC1..........................................

NaCl... ......................................

Glauber's salt and KzSOi.. ...................

NaCl and KCL. ..............................

NaCl and Glauber's salt............... ....... 

KsS04 , KCl, aphthitalite. ...................

NaCl, Glauber's salt, KCl ....................

KC1, Glauber's salt, aphthitalite .............

"

NaCl

34.95

31.53 

34.48 

13.38 

32. OS 

27.07 

7.46

KCl

28.20

27.88

10.55 ""ii'.is

7.81 

10.06 

13.24

Na2SO<

4.62

6.30

1.70

4.73

KSSO4

7.23

9.00 

1.21

"""2."78"

3.62 

3.24

Specific 

gravity

solution.

1.043 

1.063 

1.153 

1.206 

1.118

1.185 

1.188 

1.240 

1.232

In mols per 1,000 mols of water.

Ai 

Bi

1

<h

I 1'

Saturated with 

NauSOi......................................

KsS04 ........................................

KCl..........................................

NaCl.........................................

NaCl and KCl................................

KsSOi, KCl, aphthitalite.....................

NaCl, Glauber's salt, KCl....................

KjSO4, Glauber's salt, aphthitalite ...........

Na2Cl2

53.84

48.58 

53.28

19.41 

49.44 

41.71 

11.50

KjCb

34.05

33.66

12.75

21.48 

9.43 

12.15 

16.00

Na:S04

5.85

7.99

2.32

2.87

6.0

K2S04

7.47

9.30 

1.25

3.75 

3.35

Sum.

5.85 

7.47 

34.05 

53.84 

17.29 

34.91 

61.33 

55.60 

43.76 

62.62 

57.21 

33.50

The striking characteristic of Figure 6 is the great extent of the 

field of saturation of Glauber's salt, as compared with the small
SOLUBILITY.

Na2Cl 2

Na2S04 IOH

extent of the field of saturation of aphthitalite (Na, K) 2 »S04 . Thenardite (Na2S04 ) has no field of saturation on this diagram, and 

the sodium chloride field is not large. These facts accord with expectations based on Figure 5 and show that the best way to separate 

sodium sulphate from certain mixtures is to chill the solutions and 

remove the Glauber's salt. The separation of Glauber's salt in cold 

weather from the water of saline lakes and ponds in many of the 

Western States has frequently been .observed. 

In fact, its deposition 

from even the water of 

the Great Salt Lake, 

which at ordinary temperature is far from saturated with this salt, 

has long been known, 

and experiments by the 

writer have shown that 

this separation begins in 

the lake water at 1° C., 

just above the freezing 

point of pure water. The temperature at which the separation of 

potassium sulphate begins was not determined.

Relations at %5° G. The solubility data for a temperature of 

25° C. are given in Table 4, and the phase diagram in Figure 7. It 

will be seen from the diagram that the field of saturation of Glauber's 

salt has become very small, and the existence of this phase can not 

be expected at much over 25°. On the other hand, the thenardite 

field appears, the fields of sodium chloride and aphthitalite are 

larger than at 0°, and that of potassium sulphate is much smaller.

TABLE 4. Composition of solutions saturated with certain salts at 25° C.

In grams per 100 grams of water.

FIGURE 7. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 25* 

C. Figures indicate mols per 1,000 mols of water.

A« 5J o«

D3

TJI

F

0?

H,

T!

Kj 

Ti

M3

N,

Saturated with 

Na&Oi...... .................................

KsSOi.......... ..............................

KC1..........................................

NaCl.........................................

KjSOiandKCl..............................

KClandNaCl................................

NaCl and Na2S04 .... ......................:.

NasSOi, Glauber's salt, aphthitalite .......... 

KC1, KsSO<, aphthitalite.....................

KCL NaCl. aphthitalite.. ....................

NaCl, NasSO*, aphthitalite. ..................

NaCl

35.63

29.88

32.16

18.82

14.28 

6.78

27.96

34.90

KC1

36.96

36.63

16.28

""29." 38'

16.37

NasSO,

27.93

30.97

6.69

9.81

21.68

22.28

3.51

2.25

K3SO<

12.02

9. 3i

13.24

1.53

7.32 

2.23

11.03

Specific 

gravity 

of 

solution.

1.212

1.088

1. 187

1. 199

1. 282-

1. l49>

 1.1W

1.237

1.23S>

1.24*

1.27* 

1.200

1.250

1.266
SODIUM SULPHATE I ITS SOURCES AND USES.

TA.BLE 4. Composition of solutions saturated with certain salts at 25° C. Con.

'' : In mols per 1,000 mols of water.

A."~

n

C2

Ps

T7I k

G2 ¥,'

J2 

K2

L8

Ma

N2

Saturated with 

Na2S04.......................................

KsS04 . .......................................

KC1..........................................

Nad.........................................

K2S04 and KC1.... ...........................

KC1 and NaCl.. ..............................

Na2S04 and Glauber's salt ...................

KCl, K2S04,aphtnitalite.....................

KC1, NaCl, aphthitalite ......................

NaCl, Na2SO4, aphthitalite. ..................

NasClj

54.90

46.04

49.56

29.00 

21.92

10.45

43.08

53.75

KjClj

44.62

44.11

19.66

35.49

19.78

Na2SO«

35.41

39.27

S it

12.4-1

27.5 

28.25

4.45

2.85

KSS04

12.46

Q <M

13 fiQ

1 £A

..........

9 in

11.40

Sum.

qe A\

1O AfL

44 62

KA QA

48.90

9O 17

65.70

56.50

VI 74

48.24

68.00

Relations at 50° 0. From the data given in Table 5 and the 

diagram of Figure 8 it is seen that at 50° Glauber's salt does not 

©xist, most of its area being in the thenardite field.

Na2 CI2

FIGDBB 8. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 50° C. Figures indicate mols per

1,000 mols of water.

TABLE 5. Composition of solutions saturated with certain salts at 50° C, 

In grams per 100 grams of water.

A.

B8

rv.

T».

?

I:n.

H,

Is 

I*

Ms

N8

Saturated with 

Na28O4..... ..................................

KsSO*...... .................................

KCL. ........................................

NaCl.........................................

KC1 and KsSOi.... .................... ......

KC1 and NaCl.. ..............................

NaCl and NasS04... ............... .......... 

K2S04.KC1, aphthitalite.....................

1Tr<1 NaPl anhthftalita

NaCl, Na2SO<, aphthitalite. ..................

NaCl

36.50

29.09

33; 70 

4.68

26.84

40.15

KC1

43.12

42.24

22.03 ""ss.'oe"

22.43

14.58

Na5S04

44.84

45.73

6.79

7.34

3.15

11.74

K»S04

17.09

9 4n

17.36

1.84

"""2." 59"

Specific 

gravity 

of 

solution.

1.301

1.110

1.198

1.188

1.351

1.307

1.212

1.246

1.223 

1.203

1.254

1.248
SOLUBILITY. 11

TABLE 5. Composition of solutions saturated with certain salts at 50° C. Gon.

In mols per 1,000 mols of water.

An

flf.

Cs

T)s

TCs

ftOs

H,

Ts

U

Ms

N«

Saturated with 

NajS04 . .....................................

KjSO*.. .....................................

KC1..........................................

NaCl... ......................................

Na2S04 and aphthitallte. ....................

KsS04 and apnthitalite. .....................

KClandK2S04..............................

KClandNaCl................................

NaCl and NasSO*..... .......................

K2SO<,KCl,aphthitallte.....................

KCl.NaCl.apfitMtaUte......................

NaCl, NasSOi, aphthltallte. ..................

NaaCls

56.24

44.82

51.93

7.21

41.36

40.15

KjCl2

52.10

51.03

26.61

42.36

27.01

14.58

Na2SO4

56.86

58.00

8.61

9.26

4 00

11.74

K2SO«

17.60

9.72

17.95 i on

2.67

Sum.

56.86

'17.60

52.10

 56. 24

67.72

26.56

KO QO

71.43

61.19

.52.24

79 17

' 66. 47

Relations at 76° and 100° G. The diagrams for temperatures of 

75° and 100° C. are very similar, but the increasing solubility of

Na,SO,

FIGURE 9. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 75° O. Figures Indicate mols per

1,000 mols of water.

the potassium salts is noteworthy. The data are given in Tables 

6 and 7 and the diagrams in Figures 9 and 10.

TABLE 6. Composition of solutions saturated ivith certain salts at 75° C. 

In grams per 100 grams of water.

Ai

B4

C4

D4

T?.

F4

G4

H4

It

L4

M4

N4

Saturated with 

NasS04.... ...................................

K»S04 ........................................

KC1..........................................

NaCl.........................................

KC1 and K2S04 .... ..........................

KClandNaCl................................

KSSO4. KC1, aphthitalito. ....................

KCLNaCl.aphthitalite..... ..................

NaCl, Na2S04) aphthitalite. ..................

NaCl

37.75

27.87

35.46

5.71

25.45

28.28

KC1

49.70

48.75

29.06

42.58

15.72

Na2S04

43.41

42.06

10.09

6.67

3.33

8.88

K8S04

20.80

11.77

18.60

2.12

2.83

Specific 

gravity 

of 

solution.

1.286

1.120

1.204

1.183

1.332

1.183

1.249

1.210

1.223

1.257

1.253
12 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

TABLE 6. Composition of solutions saturated with certain salts at 75° 0. Con. 

In mols per 1,000 mols of water.

A4 

B4 

C4 

D4

E4 

F4 

G< 

H4 

I4 

L* 

M4 

N4

Saturated with 

Na2S04 .......................................

K2SO4 ........................................

TTPl

NaCL. .......................................

KC1 and K2SO4 ... ....... ....................

KC1 and NaCL. ..............................

NaCl and Na2SO4 ... ..........................

NaCl, Na2SO4 , aphthitalite. ..................

NajCls

58.17

42.94 

54.64

8.80 

39.23 

43.57

KjClj

60.02

58.90 

35.11

51.45 

35.50 

18.99

NasS04

55.03

53.34 

12.80

8.48

" 4.23 

11.26

KjS04

21.50

12.17 

19.23 

2.19

2.93

Sum.

55.03 

21.50 

60.02 

58.17 

65.51 

32.03 

61.09 

78.05 

63.12 

63.18 

78.96 

73.82

FIGURE 10. Equilibrium diagram of certain salts at 100° C. Figures indicate mols per

1,000 mols of water.

TABLE 7. Composition of solutions saturated with certain salts at 100° C.

In grams per 100 grams of water.

An

T^

C, "Dft

K,

F,

0,

H,

Is 

T«

M,

Nd

Saturated with 

NajS04 ... ...................................

KsS04 .......................................

KCL. ........................................

NaCl...... ...................................

Na2S04 and aphthitalite.....................

K2S04 and apnthitalite. .....................

K2S04 and KCL... ..........................

NaCl and KC1... .............................

NaCl and Na2S04............................ 

K2S04, KC1. aphthitalite. ....................

KC1, NaCl. aphthitalite. .....................

NaCl, Na2S04 , apthitalite. ...................

NaCl

39.40

27.39

36.56 

3.19

24.82

35.84

KC1

56.20

54.43

35.16

""5u"6i"

36.13

10.18

Na2S04

41.68

41.70

13.57

6.41

43.77

K2SO4

23.44

13.62

20.51

2.83

"""3." 24*

11.00

Specific 

gravity 

of 

solution.

1.264

1.134

1 217

1 175

1.326

1.213

1.225

1.253

1 204 

1.233

1.269

1.256

In mols per 1,000 mols of water.

An

B,

0.

D6 "R,

F«

0,

H,

T,

U

Ms

N,

Saturated with 

Na2SO4 ............. .........................

K2S04 .......................................

KC1..........................................

NaCl.........................................

Na2SO4 and aphthitalite.... .................

KSS04 and apnthitalite ......................

K2S04 andKCl...................i..........

NaCl and KC1.. ..............................

NaCl and NasS04 ............ ................

K2SO4 .KC1. aphthitalite.....................

KC1. NaCl. aphthitalite......................

NaCl, Na2SO4 , aphthitalite. ..................

NaiiCl2

60.81

42.20

56.33

4.91

38.25

55.22

K2C12

67.90

65.76

49 48

60.41

43.65

12.31

Na2S04

52.86^

52.88

17.21

8.12

4.78

K2SO4

24.07

14.08

21.21

2.93

3.24

11.37

Sum.

52.86

24.07

R7 QA

60.81

66.96

38.42

68.69

84.68

64.45

68.56

86.68

78. W
SODIUM SULPHATE : ITS SOURCES AND USES. 13 

SALT CAKE.

Salt cake is obtained in large quantities in the manufacture of 

hydrochloric acid from common salt, by the action of either niter 

cake or sulphuric acid. The process is usually carried out by placing about half a ton of salt in a large semispherical pan set in brickwork and heated by direct firing. An equal weight of concentrated 

sulphuric acid is added from a leaden cistern, when the following 

chemical reaction takes place:

NaCl+H2S04=NaHS04+HCl

The hydrochloric acid that escapes through a flue in the dome of 

brickwork that covers the pan is absorbed by water. The hot mass 

is then raked into a muffle furnace, where the reaction is completed 

at a higher temperature:

NaCl+NaHS04=:HCl+Na2S04

The additional hydrochloric acid escapes through a separate flue 

and, after being cooled and washed, is also absorbed by water in 

special absorbing devices made of acid-proof materials.

Hydrochloric acid is used as a laboratory reagent and for many 

minor industrial purposes. The production of this acid in the United 

States in 1919, as reported by the Bureau of the Census, amounted 

to 150,000 tons, valued at $4,312,000. It can readily be seen that 

an increased demand for salt cake might lead to lower prices for 

hydrochloric acid. But hydrochloric acid is also made by a catalytic process from chlorine, which is a by-product of the electrolytic 

caustic-soda industry, and hydrogen, which is a by-product of the 

electrolytic oxygen industry. It appears, therefore, that changes 

caused by an increased demand for salt cake may affect several other 

industries to a certain extent.

Salt cake is made in England by Hargreave's process, which uses 

salt, sulphur dioxide, air, and steam.

Attempts have been made from time to time to vary the apparatus 

used in making salt cake for example, to use mechanical or continuous furnaces but without effecting important changes.

From 1910 to 1915 the prices recorded for salt cake in the trade 

journals showed little variation, ranging from about $10 to $13 a 

ton for ground material. In 1916 the quotation fell to $8, but 

immediately afterward it began a rapid rise which continued through 

1917 and nearly all of 1918 and carried prices up to $40. Early in 

1919, however, they had fallen back to $13 and even went as low 

as $10. In the early part of 1920, on account of the insistent demand 

for export, they began rising again until $60 was bid for small 

quantities in the spot market, when such supplies were practically

35576 23 3
14 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

exhausted. Long-term contracts, however, were made at $30 to 

.a ton at this time, and in the closing months of the year salt cake 

^vas offered rather freely at $30 a ton. The Engineering and Mining Journal in December, 1920, quoted sodium sulphate at mines in 

Idaho and Arizona at $18 to $22 a ton.

The range of prices up to the latest date available is shown in 

Figure 11.

1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 I92O I9EI 1922

FIGURE 11. Prices per ton of salt cake in the New York chemical market, 1913-1922.

The salt cake marketed in the United States, as reported to the 

United States Geological Survey for certain years and to the Bureau 

of the Census for 1914 and 1921, was as follows :

TABLE 8 Salt cake marketed in the United States in 1914 and 1917-1921.

«

IQld

1917

1Q1S

1919.........................................................

1Q9H

JQ91

Tons.

.................... 90, 440

.................... 183.910

.................... 141,050

.................... 129,000

..................... 178, 770

..................... 91, 900

Value.

 8841,900

2,987,640

2, 844, 900

2,019,400

2, 049, 100

1,955,500

The following firms produced sodium sulphate as salt cake in 1920:

Butterworth-Judson Corporation, 61 Broadway, New York, N. Y.

Consolidated Chemical Co., Lompoc, Calif.

Contact Process Co., P. O. Drawer 98, Buffalo. N. Y.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington. Del. » General Chemical Co., New York, N. Y.

Grasselli Chemical Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

Kalbfleisch Corporation, 31 Union Square west, New York, N. Y.

Charles Lennig & Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

Merrimac Chemical Co., 148 State Street, Boston, Mass.

Monsanto Chemical Works, St. Louis, Mo.
GLAUBER'S SALT. 15

Mutual Chemical Co. of America, 99 John Street, New York, N. Y.

Naugatuck Chemical Co., Elm Street, Naugatuck, C6nn.

New Jersey Zinc Co., 160 Front Street, New York, N. Y.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

Rollin Chemical Corporation, Equitable Building, New York, N. Y.

In addition to salt cake the Census Bureau reported the production 

of 2,020 tons of refined anhydrous sodium sulphate, valued at 

$154,000, in 1921, as compared with 2,708 tons, valued at $221,232, in 

1919.

GLAUBER'S SALT.

The necessary conditions for the preparation of Glauber's salt are 

evident from the solubility diagram, Figure 5. The yield is enormously increased by chilling; the salt can not be obtained at all above 

32.4° 0. This salt is used in dyeing and medicine. On account of its 

high content of water, however, it is an expensive form in which to 

transport sodium sulphate in bulk. As much of the natural sodium 

sulphate occurs in this form the principal chemical engineering problem in placing it on the market is the profitable dehydration of the 

hydrated compound.

The Glauber's salt marketed in the United States in recent years 

is shown below. The figures for 1909, 1914, and 1921 are those of 

the Census Bureau.

TABLE 9. Glauber's salt produced in the United States in 1909, 1914, and

1911-1921.

IQflQ

1914.............................................................................

1917.............................................................................

1918.............................................................................

1919.............................................................................

1920.............................................................................

1921.............................................................................

Tons.

34,540

46,470

47,760

50,720

47, 730

50,660

52,040

Value.

8427,800

512, 500

732,400

1, 041, 100

877,060

990,540

1,289,000

The following firms produced Glauber's salt in 1920:

Atlantic Carbonic Co., 268 Third Street, Chelsea, Mass.

Chicago Copper & Chemical Co., Ill West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 111.

Columbus Crystal Co., 15 Arch Street, Newark, N. J.

Consolidated Chemical Co., Lompoc, Calif.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del.

General Chemical Co., New York, N. Y.

Gill Soda Co., Cheyenne, Wyo.

Grasselli Chemical Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

Iowa Soda Products Co., Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Kalbfleisch Corporation, 31 Union Square west, New York, N. Y.

Charles Lennig & Co. (Inc.), Philadelphia, Pa.

Merrimac Chemical Co., 148 State Street, Boston, Mass.

Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

Stauffer Chemical Co., 624 California Street, San Francisco, Calif.
16 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES,

NITER CAKE.

Niter cake, the residual product in the preparation of nitric acid 

from sodium nitrate (Chile saltpeter) and concentrated sulphuric 

acid, varies somewhat in composition according to the temperature 

used in the reaction. If the heating is not carried to a high point 

some NaHSO4 is present; otherwise only Na2SO4 and Na2S2Or, 

Manufacturers report either the percentage of acid sulphate,. 

NaHS04 , or the percentage of sulphuric acid in the product; the 

latter generally ranges from 25 to 35 per cent.

A list of uses that have been suggested for niter cake would be too 

long to give here. The reader who is interested is referred to an article by J. Johnston in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering 

Chemistry for June, 1918, and a committee report in the Journal of 

the Society of Chemical Industry, volume 34, page 1121, 1915. 

Many makers of niter cake consume their entire product in their 

own works. The niter cake marketed in the United States, as reported to the United States Geological Survey for certain years and 

to the Census Bureau for 1914 and 1921, was as follows:

TABLE 10. Niter cake sold in the United States in 1914 an<l< 1917-1921.

1914................... ..........................................................

1917.............................................................................

1918.............................................................................

1919.............................................................................

1920.............................................................................

1921.............................................................................

Tons.

24,100

387.800

143,200

83,400

308, 640

16,600

Value.

331,600

780,200

595.700

271,400

788,540

255,100

The following firms reported sales of niter cake in 1920:

Aetna Explosive Co., New York, N. Y.

American Steel & Wire Co. of New Jersey, 503 Western Reserve Building, Cleveland, Ohio.

American Zinc & Chemical Co., Oliver Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Atlas Powder Co., 140 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Butterworth-Judson Corporation, 61 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 

Charles Cooper & Co. (Inc.), 194 North Street, New York, N. Y. 

Davison Chemical Co., Baltimore, Md. 

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del. 

Eagle-Pitcher Lead Co., Box 770, Chicago, 111. 

General Chemical Co., New York, N. Y. 

Grasselli Chemical Co., Cleveland, Ohio.

Kalbfleisch Corporation, 31 Union Square west, New York, N. Y. 

Charles Lennig & Co. (Inc.), 112 South Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa.. 

Merrimac Chemical Co., 148 State Street, Boston, Mass. 

Monsanto Chemical Works, St. Louis, Mo. 

Naugatuck Chemical Co., Naugatuck, Conn. 

Powers-Weightman-Rosengarten Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 

Tennessee Copper Co., 61 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 

Victor Chemical Works, Fisher Building, Chicago, 111.
SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES. 17 

NATURAL, SODIUM SULPHATE.

Sodium sulphate is found as a constituent of surface salts or lake 

waters in many of the dry districts of Arizona, California, New 

Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and certain foreign 

countries. When this salt crystallizes from water in which sodium 

chloride is not present in large quantity, the mineral formed is 

mirabilite; with higher concentrations of salt or at higher temperatures, however, thenardite is the stable form, as is evident from 

Figures 1-4.

ORIGIN.

The origin of sodium sulphate in certain deposits and saline lakes 

is easily explained. In tunnels, caves, and covered spots in recent 

lavas, such as those on the Island of Hawaii, white coatings, powders, and efflorescences consisting largely of calcium and sodium 

sulphates are frequently observed. ' Bain water dissolves these 

coatings where it has access to them. This shows that basalts and 

lavas may furnish sodium sulphate to drainage systems. Moreover, 

granite and other igneous rocks are rarely free from pyrite and other 

sulphides. The sulphides on exposure are oxidized to sulphuric 

acid, which immediately dissolves some of the basic oxides, producing soluble sulphates.

Hardly any natural water can be found that is entirely free from 

sulphates. In most regions, however, such waters eventually escape 

to the ocean. In arid districts and the great closed basins, where 

rainfall is deficient and there is no outlet to the ocean, the soluble 

salts accumulate, and may eventually form a deposit that is fairly 

dry for part of each year.

As an intermediate stage, even in waters that contain a relatively 

small proportion of sodium sulphate, mirabilite may be deposited in 

cold weather. The conditions that accompany this deposition generally involve the presence of some wind-blown sand, which may 

cover the precipitated sodium sulphate, or silt may effect the same 

result. In consequence of being more or less covered and on account 

of the high density of the saturated solution the salt is dissolved more 

slowly than it was precipitated and perhaps is not entirely redissolved in an entire season. Thus an accumulation is brought about. 

Subsequently the water area shifts or the lake dries up, leaving the 

salt or salts deposited in the'form of a hard layer or salt-incrusted 

sand.

Some other possible methods of origin might be mentioned. For 

instance, the concentration and evaporation of many river waters, especially those of the Western States, which contain principally calcium bicarbonate, would cause a deposition of calcium carbonate and
18 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

leave a solution rich in sodium sulphate, with smaller amounts of 

magnesium sulphate and sodium chloride.

Owing to the fact that soils consist largely of decomposed rock, 

sodium sulphate is a natural minor constituent of soils but one which 

is of course almost entirely removed by leaching where rainfall and 

drainage are normal. In the more arid regions, however, it accumulates and is called white alkali, as previously mentioned. Glauber's 

salt is a common constituent of efflorescences on clays in dry regions.

DEPOSITS.

The following notes on occurrences of natural sodium sulphate, 

which have been compiled with the assistance of Miss M. K. Nourse 

and other members of the United States Geological Survey, represent 

information that has come from many scattered sources. Although 

many of these occurrences are well known and some are now being 

worked, others have not been investigated by the United States Geological Survey and probably can not be considered of commercial 

value. At some of the localities only single samples have been taken, 

and of course further investigation of the extent and quality of such 

deposits would be required before any estimate of their value could 

be given. A few foreign occurrences are also listed for comparison.

ARIZONA.

Santa Gatalina^ Pi/ma, County. Loew 5 gave an analysis of an 

efflorescence consisting of 94 per cent Na2S04 found at Santa 

Catalina, Pima County, Ariz., but mentioned no details of the extent 

of the deposit.

Verde Valley. The occurrence of thenardite in Verde Valley is 

described by Blake.6 The salt is found about 4 miles north of 

Squaw Peak, half a mile west of the river, in ledges or benches and 

rounded hills about 50 feet above the river. It is evidently a deposit 

from an ancient lake. The deposit covers many acres and is possibly 

50 feet thick, and the available tonnage therefore runs into the 

millions. Mirabilite, blue halite, and glauberite were also noted 

by Blake near the deposit. The nearest point on the railroad is 

Clarkdale, about 20 miles distant.

The deposit is now being worked by the Western Chemicals 

Corporation, 401 Broadway, New York City, which states that 

several shafts sunk in the deposit have shown very clean anhydrous 

material. The corporation contemplates the installation of refining

6 U. S. Geol. Surveys W. 100th Mer. Kept., vol. 3, p. 628, 1875. 

a Blake, W. P., Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 39, p. 43, 1890.
DEPOSITS. 191

equipment, however, so that material of lower grade can be recrystallized and a pure salt cake produced.

CALIFORNIA.

Carrizo Plain. The deposit in Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo 

County, Calif., known as Soda Lake has been described by Arnold 

and Johnson r and by Gale.8 Gale estimated the probable quantity 

of sodium sulphate available for commercial utilization here at over 

a million tons. The salt occurs in a relatively thin crust, a fewinches thick, with possibly some " channels " of greater thickness. 

Transportation to the nearest railway station, McKittrick, involves 

a haul of 16 miles over a grade. This deposit has been worked for 

many years by the Consolidated Chemical Co., of Lompoc, Calif.. 

Part of the product is said to be used by the Torrance Window Glass. 

Co., Torrance, Calif.

Imperial Valley. A recent application to the General Land Office* 

to prospect for potash contained mention of the occurrence of a 

ledge of sodium sulphate in sec. 24, T. 9 S., R. 11 E., in the northern 

part of Imperial County, near the station of Bertram, on the> 

Southern Pacific Railroad. This locality adjoins Salton Sea,, 

formerly a dry lake or playa known as the Salton Sink.

Kern County. Sodium sulphate occurs about half a mile northeast of Buckhorn Springs, 6 miles south of Munroe, Kern County,, 

as shown by tests in the chemical laboratory of the United States 

Geological Survey on material collected by D. G. Thompson from 

holes in two circular depressions between 500 and 100 feet in 

diameter, the surface of which was rough, soft, and practically bare 

of vegetation. Water stood in the holes within a foot of the surface o

of the ground. The material effloresced shortly after collection,, 

and when analyzed it was practically free from moisture. Noexamination has been made to determine the extent of the deposit.

Mohave D\esert. The possibility of utilizing the sodium sulphate 

occurring in the Mohave Desert involves its separation from sodium 

chloride. As this would have to be done by chilling, it does not 

appear to warrant consideration except as a possibility in cold 

weather, in view of the existence of other natural brines carrying; 

almost pure sodium sulphate.

Mono Lake. Although the water of Mono Lake contains sodium 

sulphate, the total concentration of salts is only about 5 per cent,,

7 Arnold, Ralph, and Johnson, H. L., Sodium sulphate in Soda Lake, Carrizo Plain, Sart 

Luis Obispo County, Calif.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 380, pp. 369-371, 1909.

8 Gale, H. S., Sodium suiphate in the Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, Calif. ^ 

U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 540, pp. 428-403, 1914.
20 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

and the salts include sodium chloride and sodium carbonate. It is 

therefore evident that the sodium sulphate could be recovered only 

as a by-product in the preparation of sodium carbonate.

Owens Lake. None of the companies working the water of Owens 

Lake for trona and soda ash have reported the production of sodium 

sulphate. As shown by the analyses in Table 11, however, the proportion of sulphates in the water of Owens Lake is less than the 

proportion in Mono Lake or that in Searles Lake, and the salt, if 

recovered from the mother liquor after removal of the sodium bicarbonate, would have to be separated from a solution carrying much 

sodium chloride. For the reason already stated this separation does 

not appear to be commercially feasible.

TABLE 11. Analysis of waters from, saline lakes of high sulphate content.

CL. ..................................

S04 . .................................

C03 -.... .............................

HC03 -... ............................

B,0«....... ..........................

B<07 .. ...............................

Na..... ..............................

K...... ..............................

Ca. ..'................................

Me...................................

SiO2 ..... .............................

A19 03 -- ..............................

FejOj. ...............................

Salinity, parts per million. ...........

1

22.64

12.47

19.78

5.92

.30

36.82

1.80

fid

.10

.13

Trace.

100. 00 

51,068

2

25.01

9.74

19.56

4.29

1.88

37.25

2.05

.22

100.00 

111,930

3

20.26

20.77

19.55

35.79

2.44

.28

.26

.65

100.00 

4,910

4

0.87

61.55

1.00

7.99

20.00

1.22

1.05

6.06

.21

.05

100.00 

6,708

5

12.50

15.47

22.77

11.55

37.27

.04

.40

100.00 

28,195

6

8.68

58.17

2.05

26.97

.93

3.20

100.00 

52,600

7

10.13

52.47

1.08

6.10

25.03

Trace.

5.19

Trace.

Trace.

100.00 

11,623

8

35.89

13.72

5.68

1.63

2.18

.96

32.78

7.16

100.00 

343,500

1. Mono Lake, 1882. Analysis by T. M. Chatard, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 60, p. 53, 

1890. Specific gravity 1.045.

2. Owens Lake, 1912. Analysis by W. B. Hicks in the laboratory of the U. S. Geol. 

Survey. Specific gravity 1.0977.

3. Tulare Lake, February, 1889. Analysis by B. W. Hilgard, California Univ. Coll. 

Agr. Appendix to Twelfth, Rept., for ^1890, p. 42, 1892. This lake has an outlet 

during floods but not at other times. An analysis of water collected in 1880 is also 

given.

4. Lake De Smet, Wyo. Analysis by W. T. Schaller. An analysis of its feeder, Shells 

Creek, was also made. See U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 364, p. 17. 1914.

5. Soap Lake, Wash. Analysis by George Steiger, U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 113. 

p. 113, 1893.

6. Big Lake, Union Pacific Group, Wyo. Analysis by Petnberton and Tucker, Chem. 

News, vol. 68, p. 1£, 1893. Specific gravity 1.0487.

7. Devils Lake, N. Dak. Analysis by H. W. Daudt, North Dakota Univ. Quart. Jour., 

vol. 1, p. 225, 1911. Reduced to standard form : Ca, 0.04 ; Si02, 12.2; R203 , 4.0 parts 

per million.

8. Searles Lake, Calif. Analysis by R. C. Wells. Jour. Ind. Eng. Chemistry, vol. 13, 

p. 691, 1921.

Searles Lake. As shown by the analysis in Table 11 the brine at 

Searles Lake may be made to yield several different salts. In the 

early days borax was obtained; a more recent project attempted the 

precipitation of sodium bicarbonate; but the plants at present operating at the lake are concerned chiefly with the extraction of potassium chloride and borax. When the writer visited the plant of the 

American Trona Corporation, in September, 1920, it was stated that 

the process then being used in making potassium chloride and borax 

involved the early separation of most of the sodium sulphate and 

sodium carbonate. As these salts are presumably mixed with a con-
DEPOSITS. 21

siderable amount of sodium chloride, however, it appears doubtful 

whether their separation would be profitable under present conditions.

Tulare Lake. The water of Tulare Lake is a dilute water, yielding 

on evaporation sodium sulphate, carbonate, and chloride.

COLORADO.

In 1870 it was reported that 3 tons a day of crude soda could 

be made from the soda springs about 10 miles southwest of Denver, 

in Jefferson County, Colo. The water of the small ponds between 

Bear Creek and Turkey Creek was reported to contain 20 per cent 

of sodium sulphate, carbonate, and chloride, and the surrounding 

earth 33 per cent of these salts.9

In a later report similar statements were made concerning Burdsal]s Soda Lakes, four in number, 12 miles south of Denver.10 The 

solid salt around the margins of the lakes was shown to be crude 

sodium sulphate.11 No recent information concerning these waters 

has come to the attention of the writer.

IDAHO.

Some deposits of sodium sulphate, called the Claytonia claims, in 

T. 2 N., R. 5 W., just west of Jump Creek, western Idaho, have 

been described by Mansfield,12 from whose account it appears that 

similar deposits occur intermittently over a considerable area between Jump Creek and Sucker Creek, Oreg. (see p. 26), but their 

extent has not been sufficiently determined to place an estimate on 

their commercial value.

NEVADA.

Brown's Station. An analysis of the incrustation found on the 

soil of the desert west of Humboldt Lake is given in the final report 

of the King Survey.13

Analysis of incrustation on soil at Brown's Station, west of Hum'boldt

Lake, Nev.

[R. W. Woodward, analyst.]

Soluble iii water, 27.71 per cent.

Sodium chloride______________-__________ 49. 67 

Sodium sulphate__________________________ 20. 88 

Sodium sesquicarbonate ________ __________ 18.15 

Sodium borate___________________________ 11.30

100.00

8 Wilson, J. S., General Land Office Kept, for 1870, p. 120.

10 Smith, J. A., Colorado Geol. Survey Kept, for 1881-82, p. 117.

11 U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Fourth Ann. Kept., p. 187, 1872.

"Mansfield, G. R., Nitrate deposits in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 620, pp. 19-44, 1915.

"Hague, Arnold, U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Kept, vol. 2, p. 744, 1877.
22 SODIUM SULPHATE I ITS SOURCES AND' USES.

This analysis is not given to suggest commercial possibilities but 

rather to indicate the general character of the desert efflorescences. 

Under certain conditions similar deposits of considerable extent are 

formed from concentrated waters and become covered with silt or 

dust, which tends to preserve them. Such deposits are frequently 

located by drilling. The United States Geological Survey has done 

some drilling in the Black Rock and Smoke Creek deserts in Nevada 

in search of potassium compounds but has given little attention to 

the other salts. In material from many of the wells the percentage 

of soluble salts was small; in some of it sulphates and carbonates 

were found together with sodium chloride. The examination of 

these samples is still in progress.

Buena Vista Valley and other playa and spring deposits. In the 

report cited above Hague 14 states that the alkali flat, about 12 miles 

in length by 4 miles in breadth, east of Buffalo Peak has around the 

edges and over much of the surface a heavy efflorescence of sodium 

chloride and sodium sulphate. The following analysis is given:

Analysis of efflorescence in Buena Vista Valley, Nev.

[O. D. Alien, analyst.]

NaCl __________________________________ 70. 81 

Na2S04 ______________________._______ 26. 38 

K.S04 __________..____________________ 1.94

99.13

Buffalo Peak forms the south end of the Star Peak .Range, which 

is the northern part of the Humboldt Range. The alkali flat lies 

about 11 miles east of the Rochester mining district, which has been 

described by Schrader. 15 Material of the above-stated composition, 

if present in large quantity and so situated as to be capable of extraction, might conceivably be worked for sodium sulphate, but the present prices of sodium sulphate hardly warrant consideration of that 

possibility.

The alkali flat in Buena Vista Valley is merely one of the many in 

Nevada that were at one time parts of Lake Lahontari. The salt 

residues in such flats or playas may be regarded as residues left by 

evaporation of the former lake.

Similar statements apply to the residues of Lake Bonneville and 

those in certain other basins. The salts are largely products of the 

weathering and leaching of the rocks that form the basin and more 

immediately of the surface soils and sediments. On the other hand. 

a good many hot springs are to be found whose boron content suggests that they are of magmatic origin. Sulphates may have come 

from either source, magmatic or surface, although the oxidation of

14 Hague, Arnold, U. S. Geol. Bxpl. 40tli Par. Kept, vol. 2, p. 731.

15 Schrader, F. C., The Rochester mining district, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 580, 

pp. 32-3-372, 1915.
DEPOSITS. 23

sulphides at the surface has generally been considered the principal 

source of sulphates.

The products of the evaporation of spring waters form considerable deposits near several of the springs in Nevada for example, 

at Sou Hot Springs, in the valley east of Buena Vista Valley, 

formerly called Osobb Valley; at Good Springs, Clark County; and 

at the springs east of Granite Mountain, on the western border of 

the Smoke Creek Desert. These occurrences, which all show more 

or less sodium sulphate, are interesting as showing a possible source 

of sodium sulphate in the sinks and play a lakes of the State. So 

far as present information goes none of them are of commercial 

importance. The samples taken may have represented very small 

deposits. More prospecting and chemical study is needed to show the 

relations of the several salts in these localities. Sodium sulphate has 

been noted as localized in the center of some playa lakes and around 

the edges of others. The exact reason for these differences is not 

clearly understood, but they are doubtless partly dependent on the 

variations of water level and temperature. Borings in Dixie Valley 

yielded brines in which sodium chloride is the principal constituent.1 *

Even if sodium sulphate was deposited before sodium chloride in 

the evaporation of the former lakes and therefore in general should 

be sought above the lowest drainage levels, it must be remembered 

that more or less periodic leaching of such deposits would be certain 

to occur and destroy to some extent the natural sequence of deposition that might be expected from the solubilities of the salts.

Sodium sulphate is the chief mineral salt in the water of Schaffer's 

hot spring, near the north shore of Honey Lake, and in the water of 

the springs a few miles north of Granite Mountain. According to 

Russell,17 Schaffer's spring was flowing copiously during the existence 

of Lake Lahontan. No analysis of the water of Honey Lake is 

available, but it is known to carry chiefly sodium chloride, sulphate, 

and carbonate. In the water of Walker Lake, which is, however, 

not very concentrated, the proportions of sodium sulphate and 

sodium carbonate in the total salts are relatively high.

Mina. Sodium sulphate was mentioned in unpublished notes by H. S. 

Gale as occurring " near Mina, Nev.," in a deposit along a zone of 

faulting and hydrothermal action, but no further details are available.

Ragtown Soda Lakes. The soda lakes near Ragtown have been 

described by King,18 Hague,10 Russell,20 and Chatard.21 Although

18 Young, G. J., Potash salts and other salines in the Great Basin region : U. S. Dept. 

Agr. Bull. 61, p. 54, 1914.

17 Russell, I. C., Geological history of Lake Lahontan: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 11,. 

p. 51, 1885.

18 King, Clarence, U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Kept., vol. 1, pp. 510-513, 1878.

i» Hague, Arnold, idem, vol. 2, pp. 746-750, 1877.

20 Russell, I. C., op. cit., pp. 73-80.

a Chatard, T. M., U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 60, pp. 46-53', 1890.
24 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

they have been worked chiefly for sodium carbonate, the analysis by 

F. W. Taylor, which is cited by Eussell, of material that was marketed 

in the early days shows about as much sodium sulphate as sodium 

carbonate. This material was probably " winter soda," naturally high 

in sulphate. Chatard showed that later operators were able to make 

"summer soda," which was essentially the mineral trona. The 

quantity of sodium sulphate in the water of the larger lake was 

estimated by Russell at about 340,000 tons, which is small when compared with many known deposits of natural sodium sulphate.

Silver Peak. Glauber's salt has been reported as occurring in the 

southwestern part of the Big Smoky Valley, about 12 miles north 

of Silver Peak. The material as it occurs in the ground has a dark 

color and carries only about 50 per cent of Glauber's salt, which 

would have to be extracted and recrystallized. Water can not be obtained at the deposit. The quantity of Glauber's salt available is not 

known.

Smoke Greek Desert. -An early analysis of the surface incrustation of Smoke Creek Desert 22 is as follows:

Analysis of salts at Hardin City, Nev.

[0. D. Alien, analyst.]

Sodium chloride__________________________ 18. 47 

Sodium carbonate__________________________ 52.10 

Sodium sulphate ___ ______________ __ 27. 55

98.12

Borings made by the United States Geological Survey show the 

presence of gaylussite in the mud of the play a, but as the salts were 

examined principally with reference to their potassium content much 

more detailed investigation will be needed to block out the relation 

of the other compounds.

Wabuska. Russell 23 mentions a deposit 6 to 8 feet thick of clear 

transparent crystals of sodium sulphate, resting on saline clay, 

formed by the evaporation of the waters of hot springs in Mason 

Valley, Lyon County, about 1 mile north of Wabuska station. The 

springs occur in a line that coincides with the course of a postLahontan fault.

NEW MEXICO.

Dona Ana County. A deposit of sodium sulphate lies about 25 

miles west of Valmont, N. Mex., between the San Andres Mountains 

and the white gypsum sands that are a prominent feature in the 

central part of the valley about IT miles west of the railway. The 

roads between the deposit and the railway are reported to be fairly 

level, thus permitting hauling by autotruck.

22 Hague, Arnold, U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Kept, vol. 2, p. 792, 1877.

23 Russell, I. C., op. cit, p. 48.
DEPOSITS. 25

According to the description by Meinzer 24 the alkali flat, the 

white sands, and much of the rest of the valley in this part of the 

Tularosa Basin is underlain by gypsum, the horizontal bedding 

of which near the alkali flat indicates deposition from a former lake. 

The flat is believed to have been excavated by wind action. Sodium 

sulphate is a prominent constituent of the solid material lying in

FIQDBB 12. Map showing alkali flat in Dona Ana County, N. Mex.

the lowest part of the flat, about in the south-central part of T. 

18S.,K. 5E. (See Fig. 12.)

In a sample of the solid material submitted by a person having 

an interest in the property above described, which was said to be 

representative of the whole deposit to a depth of 1 to 4 feet, the 

writer made a careful search for the mineral glauberite but could 

not detect any. The sample appeared to consist entirely of gypsum 

more or less coated and mixed with sodium sulphate, most of which 

was apparently anhydrous. It is presumed that the sample was col24 Meinzer, O. B., Geology and water resources of Tularosa Basin, N. Mex.: U. S. Geol. 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 343, p. 69, 1915.
26 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

lected during a dry period or had been allowed to dry out in the 

air, for it is understood that water will generally rise nearly to the 

surface in any pits that are dug in the lowest parts of the flat. This 

feature is important in considering the commercial value of the deposit, for the water standing in the pits and filling the pores in the 

solid material is naturally very nearly saturated with sodium sulphate at the temperatures prevailing in this region. Such a solution 

could either be evaporated to yield all of its dissolved sodium sulphate, which would include any other soluble salts present in the 

water, or chilled to yield Glauber's salt, which could be sold as such 

or converted into the anhydrous salt.

The Southern Chemical Co., of El Paso, Tex., did some experimental work on the production of anhydrous sodium sulphate from 

this deposit in 1919. It was later reported to have been taken under 

the control of the Great Southern Sulphur Co., a New Orleans concern. An application for commodity freight rates on the product 

was granted in April, 1919. The present rates are about $7.20 a ton 

to Kansas and Oklahoma points, $9.90 to Colorado, Missouri River 

points, and Galveston, $12 to Chicago, and $19 to Baltimore and New 

York.

It is obvious that as regards its utility this source of sodium sulphate is one step removed, so to speak, from deposits of Glauber's 

salt itself, but it has the advantage of being less contaminated with 

other salts than many saline waters which carry sodium sulphate 

as their chief constituent.

Laguna Salina. The occurrence of salt at Laguna Salina, in T. 5 N., 

R. 10 E., Torrance County, has long been known, the salt having 

been used for cattle in very early times. The lake, which is usually 

dry, covers about 670 acres. Crystals of bloedite have been reported 

as occurring in the black mud about 2 feet beneath the surface of 

the lake. Mirabilite has also been reported. The deposit is apparently of no value, however, for sodium sulphate.

OREGON.

Ha/rney Lake. An analysis given by Clarke 25 shows that the 

water of Harney Lake, Oreg., resembles that of Owens Lake, Calif., 

but is much less concentrated and contains relatively less carbonate 

and sulphate and consequently more chloride.

Sucker Creek In. sees. 11 and 12, T. 23 S., R. 46 E. Willamette 

meridian, east of Sucker Creek, some low hills have been found to 

carry Glauber's salt in beds 2 feet or more thick. The salt is partly 

effloresced in the upper 3 or 4 inches. A claim of 120 acres, called

28 Clarke, F. W., The data of geochemistry, 4th ed.: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 695, 

p. 169, 1920.
DEPOSITS. 27

the American placer, has been located in these deposits by the 

American Fertilizer Co. These deposits are described briefly by 

Mansfield.26

TEXAS.

A lake about 11 miles from the railroad at Monahans, Ward 

County, Tex., is reported to be underlain by at least one and 

possibly two thin beds of crystallized salts, which appear to be 

chiefly Glauber's salt, according to the results of an inspection of 

a single sample made in the chemical laboratory of the United 

States Geological Survey. The lake is reported to have an area 

of about 160 acres. The first layer of salts, from 3 to 6 feet thick, 

occurs at a depth of 1 to 3 feet below the surface of the lake. A 

second bed of salts has been noted about 30 feet lower, under 

intervening red clay. The sample mentioned was collected by J. D. 

Jones, of Monahans, from the lake, which is partly on his ranch. 

He states that a good road runs from Monahans to a point within 

a mile of the lake.

UTAH.

Great Salt Lake. It was stated in 1920 27 that the Minerals Salt 

Co. had been incorporated to work deposits of Glauber's salt on 

the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, from which the Midwest 

Dye & Chemical Co. had already produced some salt cake. These 

deposits were said to be 5 to 7 feet thick and to be about half sand 

and also covered with about 2 feet of sand.. The method of working consisted in removing the overburden of sand and injecting live 

steam into the pits until enough solution was accumulated to be 

pumped into a small settling tank. This solution was then decanted 

into shallow ponds, where pure Glauber's salt separated as the solution cooled. It was later reported that both of these companies had 

discontinued active operation, but that other persons were studying 

methods of working the deposits. The Utah Sodium Products Co., 

1022 Kearns Building, Salt Lake City, has acquired an option on 

700 acres on the lake front to cover part of the same deposit of 

sodium sulphate.

Sevier Lake. Gilbert 28 mentions the occurrence of a crust of 

sodium suhphate about 2 inches thick in the center of Sevier Lake.

Wendov&r. A specimen of material obtained near Wendover, on 

the western edge of the Salt Lake Desert, sent in for examination to 

the United States Geological Survey was found to carry 97.3 per 

cent of anhydrous sodium sulphate. The material was said to cover 

several acres.

28 Mansfield, G. R., Nitrate deposits in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon: TJ. S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 620, p. 30, 1915.

17 Chem. and Met. Eng., Dec. 29, 1920.

88 Gilbert, G. K., Lake Bonneville: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 1, p. 225, 1890.
28 SODIUM SULPHATE : ITS SOURCES AND USES.

WASHINGTON.

Okanogan County. Analyses of samples collected from small 

lakes east of Okanogan Eiver at Malott, Okanogan County, Wash.r 

have shown the material to be almost pure sodium sulphate. Detailsconcerning the extent of the deposits are not available. Many small 

ponds in the hilly region along Okanogan Biver become almost or 

completely dry in the dry season and consequently yield saline deposits.

Some lakes in Kruger Mountain, west of Oroville, near the Canadian line, have yielded considerable quantities of magnesium sulphate 

in the form of the mineral epsomite (MgS04.7H2 0). This compound 

seems to be a more prominent constituent in the Canadian saline 

lakes than in those of the arid regions in the United States. Its value 

when unrefined is about the same as that of sodium sulphate.

The water of Omak Lake is essentially a rather dilute solution of 

sodium carbonate and sodium sulphate. It has been estimated that 

there is about 1,300,000 tons of these salts in the lake.

Grant County. An analysis of a sample of water of Soap Lake, 

in Grant County, is given in Table 11. When this sample was col-. 

lected the water was about as concentrated as sea water. The lake 

is therefore too dilute for direct commercial utilization, and the 

same may be said of a number of other so-called alkali lakes of this 

region.

WYOMING.

Carbon County. The Bothwell saline deposits are in sees. 23 and 

26, T. 25 N., E. 89 W., Carbon County, Wyo. The main deposit is 

about 750 by 1,500 feet in extent and over 2 feet thick, according to 

Knight,29 who examined the deposits in 1899. The upper portion 

consists largely of Glauber's salt, with about 2 per cent of magnesium 

sulphate and from 1.8 to 4.2 per cent of silt. The lower portions contain more anhydrous sodium sulphate. The soils of the region are 

also rich in "alkali." Knight states that this material has clearly 

been derived from the decomposition of the Tertiary and Laramie 

formations, as they are the only ones that could supply them.

Sodium sulphate has also been reported to occur in the extreme 

southwestern township of Carbon County.

Downey Lakes, Albany County. The Downey Lakes are about 

22 miles southwest of Laramie and have been filled with soluble 

salts derived from Triassic sandstone and Jurassic clay, according 

to Knight. The beds in the lakes thicken toward the center and 

consist of Glauber's salt and magnesium sulphate. Bloedite has not

20 Knight, W. C., and Slosson, E. E., Alkali lakes and deposits: Wyoming Univ. Exper. 

Sta. Bull. 49, 1901.
DEPOSITS. 29

been reported. Although the quantity of .sodium sulphate in these 

lakes is very large, the deposit is far from the railroad, and to utilize 

the salts it would be necessary to separate the two sulphates. Other 

deposits in the State appear more promising.

Gill Lakes, Natrona County. The deposits at the Gill Lakes, in 

Natrona County, worked commercially by the Gill Soda Co., are in 

sec. 26, T. 35 N., R. 78 W., about 12 miles northeast of Casper and 

about 7 miles from Fry station on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 

Railroad. The lakes are dry most of the year, but the deposits consist of Glauber's salt. The principal deposit, which is about 13 acres 

in extent, has been opened up to a depth of 22 feet in the solid salt, 

and preparations are now being made to refine the material so as 

to make it suitable for all the uses to which sodium sulphate is put.

Park County. Holmes Lake, a small lake about 5 acres in extent, 

about 2£ miles northwest of Cody, Park County, is reported to carry 

Glauber's salt. The United States Geological Survey has not examined it. An application to lease under the sodium mining law has 

also been made for a small lake southwest of Cody, in the N. -| SE. | 

sec. 14, T. 52 N., R. 102 W.

Independence deposits, Natrona County. Deposits that lie in old 

channels of Sweetwater River, somewhat north of its present course 

near Independence Rock, in the southwest corner of Natrona County, 

appear to be entirely superficial, lying in basins of mud that are 

largely impregnated with the salts. The deposits consist of thin 

crusts, in places 1 or 2 feet thick, of salts that are chiefly remarkable 

for their high proportion of sodium carbonate in spots. One of 

Slosson's analyses suggests that a layer of trona occurs in the Omaha 

claim, the salts of which are, however, only 3 or 4 acres in extent 

and about 4 feet deep in the middle. The Berthaton claims are the 

most northerly; the southern group consists of the New York, 

Philadelphia, Wilmingtpn, Wilkesbarre, and Omajia. claims. The 

New York and Philadelphia claims cover 110 acres, the surface salts 

of which to the depth of a foot are largely sodium sulphate, according to Slosson. The origin of these salts is not settled, as the springs 

about the .deposits yield very good water. It may be that the salts 

have been transported by the wind and retained by moisture in the 

lowest basins.

Lake de Sinet. The analysis of the water of Lake de Smet (T. 52 

N., R. 82 W.) given in Taple 11 shows that sodium sulphate is the 

principal constituent and magnesium sulphate next in importance, 

a very general relation in many Wyoming alkali lakes. The lake 

water had only 6,708 parts per million of total solids, however, in 

1909. The water feeding the lake is much more dilute and carries
30 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

calcium carbonate as an abundant constituent, which seems to indicate that calcium carbonate must be precipitated as the lake evaporates.

Fremont County. Analyses of a deposit near Pacific Springs and 

of another at an alkaline pond near Big Sandy Creek, in Fremont 

County, have shown 64 per cent or more of sodium sulphate.30

Percy, Carbon County. An analysis cited in the final report of the 

King Survey 81 shows that the saline matter in the clay of a small 

pond south of Percy consisted largely of sodium sulphate and magnesium sulphate.

Analysis of soluble matter in clay from shore of pond, Percy, Wj/o.

[R. W. Woodward, analyst.]

CaSO*_______-__________________________ 4.45 

MgSO< ___________________________________ 48. 28

Na.SO4________________________________ 46.27 

Nad____________________________________ . 74

99. 74

Split Rock, Natrona County. The small mud lake about 6 miles 

from Split Rock post office in sees. 19 and 20, T. 29 N., R. 88 W., 

Natrona County, is described by D. H. Attfield.82 The thin effloresced crust of sodium sulphate covers about 100 acres, but there is 

only 6 acres of deep salts, which consist of impure Glauber's salt 

with about 25 per cent of sand and mud.

Sodium, Natrona County. Deposits of sodium sulphate are now 

being worked by the Gill Soda Co. about half a mile from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and the Chicago & Northwestern Railway at Sodium, Wyo. The quantity available is estimated at more than 250,000 tons.

Thermopolis, Hot Springs County. Glauber's salt was identified 

as the principal mineral in a sample of material sent to the United 

States Geological Survey from Thermopolis.

Union Pacific Lakes, Albany County. The Union Pacific Lakes, 

13 miles southwest of Laramie, were visited by the writer in July, 

1920. At that time they contained considerable water, but crystals 

of Glauber's salt were noted in water along the road that passes 

near the lakes, and it was reported that solid Glauber's salt exists 

in the mud under the lakes. Water is more abundant in the lakes 

since the Pioneer irrigating canal was built than formerly. A 

branch line from the Union Pacific Railroad to the lakes was 

removed some years ago. In 1885 the water of one lake was pumped 

into another so that the crude Glauber's salt could be harvested.

80 U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. Fourth Ann. Kept, p. 188, 1872. 

»U. S. Geol. Survey Expl. 40th Par. Kept., vol. 2, p. 148, 1877. 

^Soc. Chem. Ind. Jour., vol. 14, p. 3, 1895.
DEPOSITS. 31

It was allowed to effloresce somewhat in heaps and then shipped 

to the Laramie Chemical Works for conversion into salt cake, soda 

ash, and caustic soda. Two years later glassmaking was carried 

on for a time and some salt cake was shipped. The salt cake made 

in furnaces in Laramie in 1891 contained 96.37 per cent of sodium 

sulphate, 1.58 per cent of sodium chloride, and 2.05 per cent of 

magnesium sulphate. Since 1892 the deposits have not been worked. 

According to Slosson the apparatus used in dehydrating the 

Glauber's salt was not efficient.

CANADA.

Several lakes in western Saskatchewan have been reported to 

carry sodium sulphate in the form of mirabilite. At a lake near 

Oban the best crystals, left in the dry season, form a crust a few 

inches thick, but the greater part of the salt lies deeper, more or 

less mixed with mud. The water carries considerable magnesium 

sulphate and sodium chloride in addition to sodium sulphate. In 

some places the best crystals also contain some Epsom salt. These 

lakes resemble those in Wyoming very closely.

A company has been organized under the name The Soda Deposits 

(Ltd.), with its head office at Fusilier, district of Kerrubert, to work 

the deposit north of Fusilier.

A large quantity of sodium and magnesium sulphate, which 

appears in winter in the form of the mineral bloedite, has been reported in Maskakee Lake, district of Vonda, Saskatchewan. This 

deposit is being worked by Salts & Chemicals (Ltd.), whose western 

plant is at Dana, Saskatchewan.

MEXICO.

Deposits of mixed sulphates, carbonates, and chlorides of sodium 

and potassium, mostly sodium salts, have been reported from the 

province of Zacatecas, Mexico, and have been used locally for 

making soap but do not appear to be of any commercial value for 

their content of sodium sulphate.

SOUTH AMERICA.

Small deposits of sodium sulphate at the foot of the Andes have 

been worked for use in the glass industry of Argentina, but much 

salt cake is still imported.

AFRICA.

The soda lakes of Egypt have long been known as a source of 

crude natural soda. Their description, therefore, does not belong 

here, but some mention may be made of them on account of the 

fact that the soda may have originated from sodium sulphate
32 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

through the action of organisms. This is the view of Sickenberger,8 * 

who visited them in 1892. This occurrence and that of the Pretoria 

salt pan 34 are almost the only known natural deposits of soda free 

from sulphates.

These lakes lie in an almost rainless desert in a valley somewhat 

below sea level about 36 miles from the Nile and 60 miles from the 

Mediterranean. The edges of the valley are formed of rounded 

sand hills. Gypsum and salt are prominent associates of the trona. 

Sickenberger found that the springs supplying the lakes are of 

neutral reaction but carry sodium chloride and sulphate. Green 

algae abound in the basins near the springs and turn first to a 

currant-red, then to a brown as they gradually die, meanwhile y 

however, reducing the sulphates to sulphides. The brown mud 

formed by their remains is finally colored black by ferrous sulphide. 

This mud covers the bottoms of the lakes under the salt and soda 

and contains a micrococcus that causes the formation of carbon 

dioxide from the dead algae. In this way, apparently, the carbon 

dioxide of the atmosphere indirectly causes the change of sodium 

sulphate into sodium carbonate while hydrogen sulphide escapes.

Sodium sulphate has also been reported in the Katuree salt lake, 

north of Albert Nyanza.

ASIA.

Several lakes in Asia, like the sodium sulphate lakes in Wyoming, 

Utah, and western Canada, deposit Glauber's salt in cold weather. 

Among these may be mentioned certain small lakes on the steppes 

in the neighborhood of Minussinsk and Abakansk, in southern Yeniseisk, described by Ludwig,35 especially Lakes Altai, Beisk, and 

Domoshakovo, which are underlain by solid Glauber's salt.

Schmidt 86 reports a " soda lake " near Omsk fairly rich in sodium 

sulphate.

The Kara Bugas Gulf, on the east side of the Caspian Sea, deposits Glauber's salt in winter which does not wholly redissolve in 

summer. In this way a very large permanent deposit of Glauber's 

salt has been formed. Ochsenius estimated the present annual increment at 1 centimeter.

A recent list of mines, wells, etc., in Armenia mentions one mine 

of Glauber's salt. This may be a lake mentioned by Alberti 87 as 

lying in the Araxes Plain, southeast of Little Ararat.

a»Chem. Zeitun.g, 1892, pp. 1645, 1691.

84 Walker, P. A., The Pretoria salt pan, a soda caldera: South Africa Geol. Survey 

Mem. 20, p. 104, 1922.

86 Ludwig, F., Chemische UntersUchung einiger Mineral-Seen ostsibirischer Steppen: 

Zeitschr. prakt. Geologie, vol. 11, p. 401, 1903.

88 Schmidt, C., Hydrologische Untersuchungen: Acad. St.-Pe"tersbourg M6m., vol. 20, 

No. 4, p. 22, 1873.

87 Halurgische Geologic, vol. 1, p. 73, Stuttgart, 1852.
SULPHATE PROCESS OF MAKING WOOD PULP. 33

Travelers have also rioted the occurrence of Glauber's salt in certain other regions, such as the desert of Gobi and the Kirghiz steppe.

EUROPE.

Italy. According to Consular reports a company in Catania, 

Italy, capitalized at 1,000,000 lire, is engaged in producing natural 

sodium sulphate from mines in the territory of Montedoro, province 

of Girgenti.

Rumania. Lacu Sarat, Rumania, is reported to deposit Glauber's 

salt in winter, like the Great Salt Lake.

Spain. Thenardite has been noted at small lakes in Toledo, Spain, 

near Espartinas and Villamanrique.

According to a recent report 88 crude sodium sulphate which carries 

a very large percentage of calcium sulphate and a little magnesium 

sulphate is worked at a profit at Miranda de Ebro, Province of 

Alava, Spain. The ore, which is mined at Cerezo de Kio Tiron, 

Province of Burgos, is transported to the factory by motor truck, 

where it is subjected to a leaching, evaporating, and crystallizing 

process that yields 97 per cent sodium sulphate. About 800 tons was 

made in 1921, but the projected capacity of the plant is 30,000 tons 

a year. The product is consumed in local glass factories.

Russia. Glauber's salt is found in some of the saline.lakes of 

Astrakhan. Its production from natural sources has been reported 

from Kuban, north of the Caucasus Range, and from Tiflis.

SULPHATE PROCESS OF MAKING WOOD PU^P.

The sulphate process of reducing wood to pulp is so named because 

it involves the use of sodium sulphate, but this substance is used 

only in making the sodium sulphide that is one of the active chemicals in the process, the other being sodium hydroxide. The process 

might more properly be called the sulphide process. It is used 

in treating all the long-fibered woods. The pulp is generally not 

bleached but is mixed with varying proportions of mechanical pulp 

to form several varieties of kraft paper, a strong, tough paper used 

for wrapping paper and in making paper bags. As a matter of fact, 

however, sulphate pulp can be more easily bleached than soda pulp. 

The cost of labor in the sulphate process is slightly higher than in 

the soda process, on account of the smelting operation; on the other 

hand, the raw material is cheaper. Salt cake for this process should 

be ground and should contain at least 95 per cent of anhydrous 

sodium sulphate. The content of sodium chloride should not exceed 

2 per cent.

88 Rev. min., met. y de ing., No. 2863, p. 13, Jan. 8, 1923.
34 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

The process of cooking the fiber (see Fig. 13) is very similar to the 

so-called soda process, but the active material is in part sodium sulphide, formed by reduction of the sodium sulphate by coal, sawdust, 

and carbonaceous matter recovered from the waste liquors. These 

waste liquors contain carbonaceous matter, some sodium sulphate, 

and sodium carbonate; they are evaporated, first in multiple-effect 

or disk evaporators and then in rotary furnaces; and finally the residue is heated to fusion with the requisite quantity of fresh sodium 

sulphate and wood or coal. The product is dissolved in water and 

causticized with lime, yielding a solution of sodium hydroxide and

Heating 

furnace

J I

Rotary kiln -

Tube mi 11 p ^ Conveyor Smelting

Digester Washing tanks Evaporators 

FIGURE 13. Schematic outline of the sulphate process of making wood pulp.

sodium sulphide, which is suitable for acting on a fresh batch of 

wood fiber, after it is separated from the calcium carbonate sludge 

formed in causticizing. The highest efficiency in pulping is attained 

by the use of definite proportions of caustic to sulphide for each kind 

of wood.39

The Dorr Co., 101 Park Avenue, New York, has perfected several 

devices that are useful in this process, including agitators, classifiers, 

and thickeners. Most of this company's machines are intended for 

continuous operation.

Some plants omit the multiple-effect evaporators; others have also 

perfected the recovery of certain by-products such as methyl alcohol.

M Textor, C. K., Alkali recovery in the sulphate process: Paper Trade Jour., No. 18, 

1920.
SULPHATE PROCESS OF MAKING WOOD PULP. 35

oil of turpentine, and resins. Some engineering details of the process 

are discussed by H. K. Moore.40

Reported estimates of the quantity of salt cake required per ton 

of pulp range from 280 to 700 pounds. According to information 

privately communicated to the writer by A. W. G. Wilson, of the 

Department of Mines, Ottawa, Canada, the capacity of plants in 

the United States using the process is about 160,000 tons of pulp annually, compared with 180,000 tons for Canadian plants, 50,000 tons 

for plants in Norway, and 150,000 tons for plants in Sweden. The 

calculated quantities of salt cake required for the plants in the United 

States range from 22',000 to 56,000 tons. Consular reports in January, 

1923, state that Sweden is still in need of steady supplies of sodium 

sulphate, and that German exports were only 47,000 tons annually, 

compared with 83,000 tons in 1913.

The wood-pulp industry of the country is largely restricted to 

New England and the States about the Great Lakes, owing to the 

fact that the forests of these regions contain the varieties of timber 

best adapted to paper making, but some progress has also been made 

in using southern pine.

In 1917 spruce supplied 55 per cent of the pulp made, and hemlock, 

balsam, and poplar most of the remainder. The Census Bureau and 

the American Paper & Pulp Association reported 3,822,000 tons of 

pulp, valued at $275,900,000, produced in the United States in 1920. 

The consumption has increased enormously in recent years, so that 

the United States has passed from an exporting to an importing 

country. Unless some other fiber is found for use in paper making 

it will apparently be necessary in the next decade or so to develop 

the industry in the far West or in Alaska.

The following list of manufacturers of wood pulp who use sodium 

sulphate in the sulphate process of cooking wood has been compiled 

from such information as is available. This list is believed to be 

fairly compete for the United States, but many wood-pulp"plants are 

also located in Canada.

Atlantic Pulp & Paper Corporation, Savannah, Ga.

Bogalusa Paper Co., Bogalusa, La.

Brown Co., Berlin, N. H.

Central Paper Co., Muskegon, Mich.

B-Z Opener Bag Co., Bralthwaite, La.

P. H. Glatfelter Co., Spring Grove, Pa.

Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Co., Port Edwards, Wis.

New York & Pennsylvania Co., Johnsonburg, Pa.

Pyne Tree Paper Co., Gordon, Ga.

J. & J. Rogers Co., Au Sable Forks, N. Y.

«Met. and Chem: Bng., vol. 17, p. 117, 1917.
36 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

Southern Paper Co., Moss Point, Miss.

Stevens Point Pulp & Paper Co., Stevens Poifit, Wis.

Wausau Sulphate Fibre Co., Mcsinee, Wis.

West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co., 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

SODIUM SULPHIDE.

A small amount of sodium sulphide is made in the United States 

as a by-product of the barium industry, but most of that produced 

in this country is made by reducing sodium sulphate with coal. The 

chemistry of this process is similar to that in the manufacture of 

wood pulp, described above, the chief difference being that the carbon is supplied as coal instead of as char from carbonaceous residues. 

The production of all grades of sodium sulphide reported to the 

United States Geological Survey for the year 1920 amounted to 

43,000 short tons, valued at $2,962,000.

USB OF SODIUM SULPHATE IN GLASS MAKING.

In making glass the several ingredients, such as sand, soda ash, 

salt cake, coke, and niter, are weighed out in the proper proportions, 

mixed in mixing machines, and transferred to the pots in furnaces 

heated by gas. Several successive additions are made as the gaseous 

products escape. These products include sulphur dioxide when salt 

cake is used. The melt is eventually heated sufficiently to remove the 

bubbles of gas in it and then made into the intended articles.

Sodium sulphate is used in making bottle, sheet, and plate glass 

in order to provide the necessary alkali base and because it is cheaper 

than soda ash, which is the standard source of alkali. The disadvantages connected with the use of salt cake are that a reducing agent 

in the form of coke, charcoal, or coal must be added to the ingredients, the exact amount of which must be carefully regulated; that 

some sulphur compounds are very likely to persist in the glass; that 

salt cake usually carries some sodium chloride, sulphuric acid, or insoluble particles; and that the ground material tends to cake again 

on standing. Glassmakers desire salt cake with less than 1 per cent 

of either sodium chloride or sulphuric acid, less than 0.4 per cent of 

iron and aluminum oxide, less than 0.5 per cent of matter insoluble 

in water, and less than 0.2 per cent of magnesium sulphate.

PROSPECTING PERMITS AND MINING LEASES.

The act of Congress approved February 25, 1920, entitled "An 

act to promote the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, and 

sodium on the public domain" (public No. 146), authorizes the 

Secretary of the Interior to issue permits to prospect for sodium
PROSPECTING PEEMITS AND MINING LEASES. 37

compounds and leases for the production of them. The part of this 

act pertaining to sodium compounds is as follows:

SODIUM.

SEC. 23. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed, 

under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to grant to any qualified 

applicant a prospecting permit which shall give the exclusive right to prospect 

for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or nitrates of sodium dissolved in and soluble in water, and accumulated by concentration, in lands 

belonging to the United States for a period of not exceeding two years: Provided, That the area to be included in such a permit shall be not exceeding two 

thousand five hundred and sixty acres of land in reasonably compact form: Provided further, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to lands in San 

Bernardino County, California.

SEC. 24. That upon showing to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that valuable deposits of one of the substances enumerated in section 25 

(hereof has been discovered by the permittee within the area covered by his 

permit and that such land is chiefly valuable therefor the permittee shall be entitled to a lease for one-half of the land embraced in the prospecting permit, at 

a royalty of not less than one-eighth of the amount or value of the production, 

to be taken and described by legal subdivisions of the public-land surveys, or 

if the land be not surveyed by survey executed at the cost of the permittee in 

accordance with the rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of 

the Interior. The permittee shall also have the preference right to lease the 

remainder of the lands embraced within the limits of his permit at a royalty 

of not less than one-eighth of the amount of value of the production to be fixed 

by the Secretary of the Interior. Lands known to contain such valuable deposits 

as are enumerated in section 23 hereof and not covered by permits or leases, 

except such lands as are situated in said county of San Bernardino, shall be 

held subject to lease and may be leased by the Secretary of the Interior through 

advertisement, competitive bidding, or such other methods as he may by general regulations adopt, and in such areas as he shall fix, not exceeding two 

thousand five hundred and sixty acres; all leases to be conditioned upon the 

payment by the lessee of such royalty of not less than one-eighth of the amount 

or value of the production as may be fixed in the lease and the payment in 

advance of a rental of 50 cents per acre for the first calendar year or fraction 

thereof and $1 per acre per annum thereafter during the continuance of the 

lease, the rental paid for any one year to be credited on the royalty for that 

year. Leases may be for indeterminate periods, subject to readjustment at the 

end of each twenty-year period, upon such conditions not inconsistent herewith 

as may be incorporated in each lease or prescribed in general regulation theretofore issued by the Secretary of the Interior, including covenants relative to 

mining methods, waste, period of preliminary development, and minimum production, and a lessee under this section may be lessee of the remaining lands 

in his permit.

SEC. 25. That in addition to areas of such mineral land which may be included 

in any such prospecting permits or leases, the Secretary of the Interior, in his 

discretion, may grant to a permittee or lessee of lands containing sodium deposits, and subject to the payment of an annual rental of not less than 25 cents per 

acre, the exclusive right to use, during the life of the permit or lease, a tract of 

unoccupied nonmineral public land, not exceeding forty acres in area, for camp 

sites, refining works, and other purposes connected with and necessary to the 

proper development and iise of the deposits covered by the permit or leasa
38 SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

Leases under this act give the lessee exclusive rights to mine and 

remove all minerals in the tracts involved for a period of 20 years 

and are then subject to renewal on such terms as the Government 

may determine. The lessee is required to expend a certain sum in 

development, to furnish a bond for $10,000 and later one for $5,000, 

and to pay the royalty and rental specified, besides paying taxes and 

furnishing monthly statements of output and annual reports with 

plats of buildings, development work, and related information.

Eegulations concerning the permits to prospect, authorized by 

the above act, are given in Circular 699 of the General Land Office, 

from which the following directions are quoted:

Applications for permits should be filed in the proper district land office, 

addressed to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and after due 

notation promptly forwarded for his consideration. No specific form of application is required, but it should cover, in substance, the following points, 

namely:

(a) Applicant's name and address.

(&) Proof of citizenship of applicant; by affidavit of such fact, if native born; 

or, if naturalized, by the certificate thereof or affidavit as to time and place 

when issued; if a corporation, by certified copy of the articles thereof.

(c) Description of land for which the permit is desired, by legal subdivisions, 

if surveyed, and by metes and bounds, if unsurveyed, in which latter case, if 

deemed necessary, a survey sufficient more fully to identify and segregate the 

land may be required before the permit is granted; also a statement whether 

the land is vacant and unclaimed.

(d) Reasons why the land is believed to offer a favorable field for prospecting.

(e) Proposed method of conducting exploratory operations, amount of capital available for such operations, and the diligence with which such explorations will be prosecuted.

(f) Statement of the applicant's experience in operations of this nature, 

together with references as to his character, reputation, and business standing.

On the receipt of the application, if found in compliance with the terms 

of the act, a permit will issue and the district land officers be promptly 

notified thereof.

The form of permit issued under this act will be in substance as follows: 

SODIUM PROSPECTING PERMIT.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Department of the Interior,

Know all men by these presents, that the Secretary of the Interior, under 

and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled " An act to promote the mining 

of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, and sodium on the public domain," 

approved February 25, 1920, has granted and does hereby grant a permit 

to __________________ of the exclusive right for a period of two 

years from date hereof to prospect the following described lands _____ __ 

___________ for chlorides, sulphates, carbonates, borates, silicates, or 

nitrates of sodium, dissolved in and soluble in water, and accumulated by 

concentration, but for no other purpose, upon the express conditions as 

follows, to wit:
PROSPECTING PERMITS AND MINING LEASES. 39

1. To begin the prospecting for said minerals within ninety days from date 

hereof and to diligently prosecute the exploration and experimental work

 during the period of such permit, in the manner and extent as follows, to wit:

2. To remove from said premises only such material as may be necessary 

to experimental work and the demonstration of the existence of such deposits 

in commercial quantities.

3. To afford all facility for inspection of such exploratory work on behalf 

of the Secretary of the Interior, and to report fully when required all matters 

pertaining to the character, progress, and results of such exploratory work, 

and to that end to keep and maintain such accounts, logs, or other records 

as the Secretary of the Interior may require.

4. Not to assign or transfer the permit granted hereby without the express

 consent in writing of the Secretary of the Interior.

Expressly reserving to the Secretary of the Interior the right to permit for 

joint or several use such easements or right of way upon, through, or in the 

lands covered hereby as may be necessary or appropriate to the working of 

the same, or of other lands containing the deposits described In said act; and 

further reserving the right and authority to cancel this instrument for failure 

of the permittee or licensee to exercise due diligence in the execution of the 

prospecting work in accordance with the terms hereof.'

Valid existing rights, acquired prior hereto, on the lands described herein 

Avill not be affected hereby.

In witness whereof I have affixed my signature hereto and the seal of the 

Department this __. __ day of ____ , 19__.

Secretary of the Interior.

The same circular also gives the regulations regarding leases. 

Leases are authorized for areas not exceeding 2,560 acres that are 

shown to contain sodium compounds of commercial value. An application for a lease when filed with the district land office will be 

given a serial number and transmitted to the Commissioner of the 

General Land Office. When an application is filed in the district 

office notice thereof should be published in a newspaper, and proof 

of publication is required before action will be taken on the application. The following form is suggested.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR SODIUM LEASE.

Serial No. ______

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 

U. S. LAND OFFICE AT ____________, 

___________________________, 19 

Notice is hereby given that in pursuance of the act of Congress, approved 

February 25,1920, __ __ ___________ whose post office address is

 _ ______ __, has made application for sodium lease covering 

the following described lands:- __________________________

Any and all persons claiming adversely any of the above described lands are 

required to file their claims in this office on or before _______'. ____________,

otherwise their claims will be disregarded in the granting of such lease.

 , Register.
40 \ SODIUM SULPHATE: ITS SOURCES AND USES.

The other regulations concerning applications, leases, permits for 

camp sites and refining works are given in full in Circular 699 of the 

General Land Office, which should be consulted for details.

SURVEY PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO SODIUM SULPHATE.

1885. Weeks, J. D., Glass materials: Mineral Resources, 1883-84, pp. 958-977.

1888. Day, W. C., Sodium salts: Mineral Resources, 1887, pp. 651-657.

1890. Chatard, T. M., Natural soda its occurrence and utilization: Bull. 60,

pp. 27-101. 

1893. Packard, R. L., Natural sodium salts: Mineral Resources, 1893, pp. 728-

736.

1909. Arnold, Ralph, and Johnson, H. R., Sodium sulphate in Soda Lake, Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, Calif.: Bull. 380, pp. 369-372.

1910. Schultz, A. R., Deposits of sodium salt in Wyoming: Bull. 430, pp. 570-

589. 

1912. Gale, H. S., Sodium sulphate in the Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo

County, Calif.: Bull. 540, pp. 428-433.

1918. Wells, R. C., Sodium salts: Mineral Resources, 1917, pt. 2, pp. 305-341.

1919. Wells, R. C., Sodium and sodium compounds: Mineral Resources, 1918, 

pt. 2, pp. 159-198.

1920. Wells, R. C., Sodium compounds: Mineral Resources, 1919, pt. 2, pp. 47-76.

1921. Wells, R. C., Sodium compounds: Mineral Resources, 1920, pt. 2, pp. 124- 

334.
INDEX.

Page. 

Abakansk, Siberia, deposits near.......... 32

Africa, deposits in........................... 31-32

Albany County, Wyo., deposits in........... 30

Alien, O.D., analyses by.................... 22,24

Altai Lake, Siberia, deposits of.............. 32

Analyses of waters of saline lakes............ 20

Aphthitalite, mineralogy of.................. 3

Araxes Plain, Armenia, deposit in........... 32

Arizona, deposits in......................... 18-19

Armenia, deposit in......................... 32

Asia, deposits in............................. 32-33

Astrakhan, Russia, deposits near............ 33

Bear Creek, Colo., deposits near.............. 21

Beisk Lake, Siberia, deposits of.............. 32

Bertram, Calif., deposit near................. 19

Big Lake, Wyo., analysis of water of......... 20

Big Sandy Creek, Wyo., deposit near........ 30

Big Smoky Valley, Nov., deposit in......... 24

Black Rock Desert, Nev., deposits in........ 22

Bloedite, mineralogy of...................... 3-4

Bonnovillo, Lake, Utah, deposits of.......... 22-23

Bothwell saline deposits, Wyo............... 28

Browns Station, Nov., deposit at............ 21-22

deposit at, analysis of.................... 21

Buekhorn Springs, Calif., deposit near....... 19

Buena Vista Valley, Nov., deposits in....... 22-23

deposits in, analysis of................... 22

Buffalo Peak, Nov., deposits near............ 22

Burdsalls Soda Lakes, Colo., deposits at..... 21

California, deposits in........................ 19-21

Canada, deposits in.......................... 31

wood pulp manufactured in............. 35

Carbon County, Wyo., deposits in........... 28,30

Carrizo Plain, Calif., deposit in.............. 19

Casper, Wyo., deposits near................. 29

Cerezo de Rio Tiron, Spain, deposit at....... 33

Chatard, T- M., analysis by.................. 20

China, deposits in........................... 33

Clarkdale, Ariz., deposit near................ 18

Claytonia claims, Idaho, deposits on......... 21

Cody, Wyo., deposits near................... 29

Colorado, deposits in........................ 21

Commercial forms of sodium sulphate........ 1

Compounds of sodium sulphate, mineralogy of 2-5 

Daudt, H. W., analysis by.................. 20

Demand for sodium sulphate................ 1

Denver, Colo., deposits near................. 21

Deposits of sodium sulphate, location of..... 18-33

origin of................................. 17-18

De Smet Lake, Wyo., analysis of water of... 20

salts in.................................. 29-30

Devils Lake, N. Dak., analysis of water of... 20 

Dixie Valley, Nev., salt obtained by borings

in............................... 23

Domoshakavo Lake, Siberia, deposits of..... 32

Page. 

Dona Ana County, N. Mex., deposit in...... 24-26

deposit in, map showing................. 25

Downey Lakes, Wyo., deposits at........... 28-29

Egypt, soda lakes of......................... 31-32

Equilibrium diagrams of certain salts at

different temperatures... 8,9,10,11,12 

Espartinas, Spain, deposits near............. 33

Europe, deposits in.......................... 33

Freight rates on sodium sulphate............ 26

Fremont County, Wyo., deposit in.......... 30

Fry, Wyo., deposits near.................... 29

Fusilier, Saskatchewan, deposit near......... 31

General Land Office Circular 699, extracts

from............................. 38-40

Germany, exports of salt cake from.......... 35

Gill Lakes, Wyo., deposits at................ 29

Glass making, use of sodium sulphate in.. 31,33,36 

Glauberite, crystal form of, figure showing... 4

mineralogy of............................ 4

Glauber's salt, firms producing.............. 15

production of............................ 15

uses of................................... 1,15

Gobi Desert, China, deposits in.............. 33

Good Springs, Nev., deposits from........... 23

Granite Mountain, Nev., deposits from

springs near..................... 23

Grant County, Wash., deposit in............ 28

Great Salt Lake, Utah, deposits of......... 27

Hanksite, crystal forms of, figure

showing......................... 5

mineralogy of............................ 4-5

Hardin City, Nov., salts at, analysis of...... 24

Harney Lake, Oreg., analysis of water of.... 26

Hicks, W.B., analysis by................... 20

Hilgard, E. W., analysis by.................. 20

Holmes Lake, Wyo., deposit in.............. 29

Honey Lake, Nov., salts in water of......... 23

Hot Springs County, Wyo., deposits in...... 30

Humboldt Lake, Nov., deposit near, analysis

of............................... 21

Humboldt Range, Nev., deposits near....... 22

Hydrochloric acid, manufacture of........... 13

Idaho, deposits in........................... 21

Imperial County, Calif., deposits in......... 19

Independence deposits, Wyo................ 29

Italy, deposits in............................ 33

Jefferson County, Colo., deposits in.......... 21

Jones, J.. D., sample collected by............. 27

Jump Creek, Idaho, deposits near........... 21

Kara Bugas Gulf, Siberia, deposits of........ 32

Katuree salt lake, Africa, deposit in......... 32

Kern County, Calif., deposit in.............. 19

Kirghiz Steppe, Siberia, deposits in.......... 33

Kuban, Russia, deposit near.'.............. 33

Laguna Salina, N. Mex., deposit at.......... 26

41
42 INDEX.

Lahontan, Lake, Nev., alkali flats of......... 22

Laramie, Wyo., deposits near............... 28,30

Law governing prospecting for and mining of

sodium compounds.............. 36-37

Leases for public lands containing sodium

deposits, law pertaining to....... 36-37

regulations governing.................... 38-40

. Lyon County, Nev., deposit in.............. 24

McKittrick, Calif., deposit near.............. 19

Malott, Wash., deposits near................ 28

Maskakee Lake, Saskatchewan, deposit in... 31 

Mason Valley, Nev., deposit in.............. 24

Mexico, deposits in.......................... 31

Mina, Nev., deposit near.................... 23

Mineralogy of compounds of sodium sulphate............................ 2-5

Minerals containing sodium sulphate........ 1

Mining leases for public lands containing 

sodium deposits, law pertaining 

to............................... 36-37

regulations governing.................... 38-40

Minussinsk, Siberia, deposits near........... 32

Mirabilite, crystal form of, figure showing.... 2

mineralogy of............................ 2

Miranda de Ebro, Spain, deposit worked at.. 33 

Mohave Desert, Calif., deposit in............ 19

Monahans, Tex., deposit near............... 27

Mono Lake, Calif., sodium sulphate in....... 19-20

water of, analysis of..................... 20

Montedoro, Italy, deposits in................ 33

Munroe, Calif., deposit near.................. 19

Natrona County, Wyo., deposits in......... 29,30

Nevada, depsits in.......................... 21-24

New Mexico, deposits in..................... 24-26

Niter cake, composition of................... 16

firms reporting sales of................... 16

production of............................ 16

uses of................................... 2,16

North Dakota, deposits in................... 20

Norway, wood pulp manufactured in........ 35

Nourse, M. R., assistance by................ 18

Oban, Saskatchewan, deposit near........... 31

Okanogan County, Wash., deposits in....... 28

Omak Lake, Wash., salts in water of........ 28

Omsk, Siberia, deposit near................. 32

Oregon, deposits in.......................... 26

Osobb Valley, Nov., deposits from springs in. 23 

Owens Lake, Calif., sulphates in............. 20

water of, analysis of...................... 20

Pacific Springs, Wyo., deposit near.......... 30

Paper, sulphate process of making........... 33-36

Park County, Wyo., deposit in.............. 29

Pemberton, H., jr., and Tucker, G. P.,

analysis by...................... 20

Percy, Wyo., deposit near, analysis of....... 30

Permits to prospect for sodium deposits, law

pertaining to.................... 36-37

regulations governing.................... 38-40

Pima County, Ariz., deposits in............. 18

Potassium chloride and sodium sulphate, a

reciprocal salt pair............... 7-12

Pretoria salt pan, South Africa, deposits at.. 32 

Prospecting for sodium deposits, law pertaining to........................ 36-37

regulations governing permits for........ 38-40

Page. 

Public lands containing sodium deposits, law

pertaining to.................... 36-37

regulations governing prospecting on and

leasing of........................ 38-40'

Publications of Geological Survey relating to

sodium sulphate................. 40

Ragtown, Nov., deposits near............... 23-24

Rochester mining district, Nev., alkali flat

near............................. 22

Rumania, depositin......................... 33-

Russia, deposits in.......................... 33

Saline lakes, analyses of waters of........... 20

Salt cake, firms producing................... 14-15-

manufacture of.......................... 13-

prices of................................. 13-14

prices of, diagram showing range of...... 14

quantity marketed in United States..... 14

uses of................................... 1

Salton Sea, Calif., deposit near............... 19

San Andres Mountains, N. Mex. ,deposit near. 24 

San Luis Obispo County, Calif., deposits in.. 19 

Santa Catalina, Ariz., deposit at............. 18

Sarat Lake, Rumania, deposits of............ 3*

Saturated solutions of certain salts, composition of, at different temperatures. 7-12 

Schaffer's Spring, Nov., sodium sulphate in

water of......................... 2&

Schaller, W. T., analysis by................. 20

Searles Lake, Calif., salts in ................. 20-21

water of, analysis of..................... 20-

Sevier Lake, Utah, deposit in................ 27

Siberia, deposits in.......................... 32

Silver Peak, Nev., deposit near.............. 24

Smoke Creek Desert, Nov., deposits in....... 22,23

salts from, analysis of.................... 24

Soap Lake, Wash., analysis of water of...... 20,28

Soda Lake, Calif., deposit in................. 19

Sodium, Wyo., deposits at................... 30

Sodium sulphate and potassium chloride, a

reciprocal salt pair............... 7-12

Sodium sulphide, quantity and value of output of, in United States......... 36

Solubility of sodium sulphate................ 5-12

figure showing curve of.................. 5

table showing........................... ft

Sou Hot Springs, Nev., deposits from....... 23

South America, deposits in.................. 31

Spain, deposits in........................... 33'

Split Rock, Wyo., deposit near.............. 30

Squaw Peak, Ariz., deposit near............. 1&

Star Peak Range, Nov., deposits near........ 22

Steiger, George, analysis by.................. 20

Sucker Creek, Oreg., deposits near........ 21,26-27

Sulphate process of making wood pulp, details of........................... 33-35

Sweden, wood pulp manufactured in........ 35-

Sweetwater River, Wyo., deposits in old

channels of...................... 29-

Texas, deposits in........................... 27

Thenardite, crystal forms of, figures showing. & 

mineralogy of............................ 2-3

Thermopolis, Wyo., sample from............ 30

Thompson, D. G., material collected by..... 1*

Tiflis, Russia, deposit near.................. 33

Transition temperature of sodium sulphate.. 6-7
INDEX. 43

Page.

Tucker, G. P., Pemberton, H., jr., and, analysis by............................ 20

TulareLake, Calif., salts in.................. 21

water of, analysis of..................... 20

Tularosa Basin, N. Mex., deposits in........ 25

Turkey Creek, Colo., deposits near........... 21

Union Pacific Lakes, Wyo., salts in......... 30-31

water of, analysis of..................... 20

Utah, deposits in............................ 27

Valmont, N. Mex., deposit near............. 24

Verde Valley, Ariz., deposit in............... 18

Villamanrique, Spain, deposits near......... 33

Wabuska, Nev., deposit near................ 24

Walker Lake, Nev., salts in water of......... 23

Washington, deposits in..................... 28

Wells, R. C., analysis by.................... 20

Wendover, Utah, deposit near............... 27

Page. 

Wilson, A. W. G., acknowledgment to....... 35

Wood pulp, manufacturers of, by sulphate 

process in the United States, 

listof............................. 35-36

quantity and value of output in United

States........................... 35

sulphate process of making, details of.... 33-36

figure showing schematic outline of.. 34 

Mnds of wood used in............... 35

salt cake required in, quantity of.... 35

Wood-pulp industry, location of, In United

States........................... 35

Woodward, R. W., analysis by.............. 21,30

Wyoming, deposits in....................... 28-31

Yeniseisk, Siberia, deposits in............... 32

Zacatecas, Mexico, deposits in............... 31

o