About 2,000 feet under Lake Erie, 30 miles east of Cleveland in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, you'll find a vast site called the Morton Salt Mine. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on roads.
The mine does not allow people other than workers to go underground, so when Morton Salt's parent company, K+S, offered Ricky Rhodes a tour to photograph for its company newsletter, he jumped at the opportunity.
"The experience was like nothing I have experienced before," Rhodes told Business Insider of his tour. "I don't really have anything to compare it to." The mine is an unusual space of long tunnels lit only by headlamps of the workers and minimal lights on the ceiling.
Luckily, Rhodes had the right photography gear to bring the place to life.
Morton Salt Mine runs about 3 miles in length under Lake Erie.
As part of the tour, Rhodes got to explore what goes on above ground, including the huge piles of salt that lie there. Rock salt, used to melt snow and ice on roads, is often dyed blue so that it stands out when it's dispensed on the street.
Source: Chromatech Colors
Driving by the mine above ground, you would never know that it's there. "Manufacturing equipment and detritus is pretty common in Cleveland, so I don't think people think too much into this," Rhodes said. "I'm not sure that people connect the large piles of salt to the massive mining operation happening 2,000 feet below the lake."
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