The stratigraphy and paleogeographic setting of the Salina evaporites are well known, but information on the details of the depositional environment is lacking. Studies of textures and structures in salt mines in the Michigan, Ohio, and Appalachian basins have provided data which can be used to reconstruct the original conditions of deposition of the Salina halite.

The salt observed in the center of the Michigan basin is a deep-water deposit characterized by annual layering and alternations of clear and cloudy salt. Minor unconformities, recrystallized patches, and ripple marks are features of the basin-margin salt.

The Appalachian basin was shallow and the environment was marked by turbulent water which destroyed any layering in the salt, produced cross-bedding, and transported shale balls in the basin. The available paleoecologic information supports the contention that in the Appalachian basin the salt was deposited in shallow water.