Abstract
I READ with great interest the article on landslips in NATURE, vol. xxii. p. 505. It is no doubt familiar to many that the salt districts of Cheshire, in the neighbourhoods of Northwich and Winsford, are subject to landslips of a peculiar kind. The beds of rock salt occupying the position of the Triassic salt lakes are the centre of an extensive underground drainage. The fresh water on reaching the salt proceeds to dissolve it and becomes brine. This brine is pumped up and manufactured into white salt. As the fresh water keeps constantly dissolving and eating away the solid salt, the superincumbent earths keep sinking, and on the surface deep furrows, like the dried beds of rivers, mark the course of the underground waters. At times enormous masses of earth sink bodily, leaving cavities of a funnel shape. A short time since a mass of at least 60,000 tons of earth suddenly disappeared. When these subsidences are near rivers they become filled with water, and large lakes over 100 acres in extent have been formed. Although houses are not overwhelmed they are very frequently destroyed, and this destruction of property is so serious that the sufferers are now about to appeal to Parliament for assistance.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
WARD, T. Landslips. Nature 22, 560 (1880). https://doi.org/10.1038/022560b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/022560b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.