Staff and visitors who were underground on Saturday night were not even aware that households in the Hutchinson area were feeling rumblings from the Oklahoma earthquake.

The salt museum manager on duty in the topside Visitor Center noticed that the ticket windows rattled, in much the same manner as when the front doors are opened during  strong winds outside. Still, absolutely nothing was noticed underground. 

When asked, we have always reassured visitors that an earthquake would not affect the mine, for a number of reasons. Now we can say that indeed nothing moved.

...well, kind of. Professor of Geology at Fort Hays State University, Ron Schott has taken four panoramic images of the salt museum in a recent visit underground and incorporated them into Google satellite imaging software. The program, called Google Earth, allows viewers to explore, search and discover the world...all with the push of a mouse. If you would like to check out the images...follow the instructions below. Google Earth is free to the public. 

Instructions to view panoramas:

1. If you haven’t already, download Google Earth.  You can do this as well as find instructions on how to do it here.
2. Once you have downloaded Google Earth, click here. It will download the map overlay that you see above along with four placeholders.
3. To view the panoramas, double-click the placeholder of your choice on the left side of your screen. Here are your options:
   1. Salt Layers and re-crystallized Pods of Halite
   2. Salt Mining by the Undercutting Process
   3. Salt Layers and Miners Graffiti
   4. Kansas Underground Salt museum Gift Shop and Displays

Having problems downloading Google Earth? You can still view the panoramas on Professor Schott's GigaPan.org website...here. 

"In Chile, workers are attempting to rescue the 33 miners who have been trapped underground for more than two months.  One-by-one they are emerging via a capsule that is being sent up and down to carry them to the surface. "

As of 3:15 this afternoon, 22 of the 33 miners have been rescued since Tuesday evening. We share the joy of the rest of the world as the miners are brought above ground to reunite with their families.

Questions have come to us regarding the Chilean mine in relation to the salt mine here in Hutchinson.

Q: The mine in Chile is 622 meters underground.  How many miles is that? I'm guessing that is far deeper than the salt mines in Hutchinson.

A: Correct, at a depth of 622 meters (2040 feet), the Chilean mine is .386 (or 2/5) miles underground. It is 1,390 feet deeper than the Hutchinson salt mine...imagine one and a half Empire State buildings.

Q: I hear on the news that the temperature in the Chilean mine is around 90 degrees.  I have visited the Kansas Underground Salt Museum and I remember it being cool.  Why is there a temperature difference?

A: Mine temperature is dependent on the depth of the mine.  The deeper the mine goes, the hotter it becomes. There is a mine in northern Kansas that is only 100 feet deep and is about 58 degrees. The Kansas Underground Salt Museum is located 650 feet below the surface of the Earth and is a constant 68 degrees. Mines in Kanopolis and Lyons are deeper than ours and are slightly warmer. It's called the geothermal gradient.

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Staff at the Kansas Underground Salt Museum were wowed today when they saw in the parking lot what can only be described as a Mini MINI Cooper convention. The parking lot was filled with the little cars. Check out some of the pictures they took!