Table salt facts for kids

A magnified crystal of salt

Table salt is a mineral composed mainly of sodium chloride (NaCl). This is a chemical compound, one of many salts. Salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite.

When salt (sodium chloride) is mixed with water, the salt dissolves into the water, creating a saline solution. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent. The open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%.

Salt can be made by either evaporation or can be mined. To get sea salt, man-made holes are built then filled with sea water. The water evaporates and leaves salt behind.

Images for kids

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  Bolivian rose salt from Andes

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  Salt production in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt (1670)

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  Ponds near Maras, Peru, fed from a mineral spring and used for salt production since the time of the Incas.

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  SEM image of a grain of table salt

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  Comparison of table salt with kitchen salt. Shows a typical salt shaker and salt bowl with salt spread before each on a black background.

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  Irregular crystals of sea salt

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  Himalayan salt is halite with a distinct pink color

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  Sea salt evaporation pond at Walvis Bay. Halophile organisms impart a red colour

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  Bread and salt at a Russian wedding ceremony