400-Million-Year-Old Ocean Sits Beneath West Virginia

Photo byCristian PalmeronUnsplash

MARTINSBURG, WV - According to West Virginia Tourism, beneath the Appalachian Mountains lies a 400-million-year-old ocean known as the Iapetus Ocean.

Named after a Greek Titan, the Iapetus Ocean predates the Atlantic Ocean and was driven underground by geological forces.

According to West Virginia Tourism, during the 1700s and 1800s, West Virginia's Kanawha Valley was a hub for salt production, once the largest in the country, thanks to this ancient ocean.

The region's award-winning salt was produced from the brine of the Iapetus Ocean and the numerous salt furnaces in the valley.

Today, the Iapetus Ocean continues to benefit local businesses, including J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works.

Owned by siblings Nancy Burns and Lewis Payne, seventh-generation salt-makers, J.Q. Dickinson harvests all-natural salt by hand from their 200-year-old family farm in Malden.

Their artisanal salt, sourced from the Iapetus Ocean, is organic and naturally derived, according to West Virginia Tourism.

Visitors can tour the farm, learn about the salt-making process, and taste their exceptional natural salt.