Himalayan salt, also known as Himalayan Pink salt, comes from the northern Punjab region of Pakistan. It is rock salt or halite with a pinkish color from minerals. People use it in cooking, as a table salt replacement, and for decoration or spa treatments. Many like it for its health benefits because it's full of minerals. It's mined in the Salt Range mountains of Pothohar plateau, not the Himalayas, even though it's called Himalayan salt.^[1][2]

It is also used to make "salt lamps" that radiate a pinkish or orangish light, manufactured by placing a light source within the hollowed-out interior of a block of Himalayan salt.^[3] Claims that their use results in the release of ions that benefit health are without foundation.^[4][5]

The pink color of Himalayan salt comes from iron oxide impurities. It is mined from the Salt Range mountains in the southern part of the Pothohar Plateau, south of the Himalayas in Pakistan. Himalayan salt is obtained from a thick layer of Ediacaran to early Cambrian evaporites in the Salt Range Formation. This geological formation includes crystalline halite mixed with potash salts, covered by gypsiferous marl, and interlayered with gypsum and dolomite beds, along with occasional seams of oil shale.^[6]

These formations in the Pothohar Plateau date back to 600-540 million years ago.^[6] Over time, these strata and the succeeding Cambrian to Eocene sedimentary rocks were pushed southward and eroded, forming the Salt Range. The highest peak in this range is Sakaser, standing at 1522 m. Commercial salt mining has been ongoing here since at least the 16th century, with active salt mines in Khewra, Warcha, Kalabagh, and Jatta.^[7][8]

Legend has it that the Khewra deposit was discovered by horses in Alexander the Great's army, but historical records trace mining back to the Janjua clan of Punjabis in the 1200s.^[9] The Khewra salt mine is the second-largest salt mine in the world.

Analysis of Himalayan pink salt samples show that they are mostly 96% to 99% sodium chloride, with small amounts of calcium, iron, zinc, chromium, magnesium, and sulfur, all within safe levels below 1%.^[10][11] However, some salts from Pakistan need purification before use in food or industry because of impurities. Salt crystals from this area can be off-white to transparent, while certain veins may have a pink, reddish, or beet-red color due to trace minerals.^[12]

Nutritionally, Himalayan salt is much like regular table salt. A study in Australia found that Himalayan salt contains higher levels of various elements, including calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, aluminum, barium, silicon, and sulfur, and lower sodium levels compared to table salt. However, the study suggested that consuming "exceedingly high amounts" (almost 600% more than the recommended daily salt intake) would be needed for these differences to matter.^[13] At such high levels, any potential nutritional benefits would be outweighed by the risks of consuming too much sodium. One crucial difference is in iodine content. Many table salts are iodine-supplemented, helping prevent iodine deficiency disorders. Himalayan salt lacks this iodine supplementation.^[14][15]

• Sea salt
• Table salt