The Discovery of Michigan Basin Water
The healing mineral waters of Mt. Clemens are the product of over 600 million years of geologic evolution.
During the Paleozoic Era, a shallow sea formed in the area that is now the Great Lakes region. The sea occupied a large basin, now known as the Michigan Basin, which collected sediment from the sea and surrounding land.
A dramatic shift in climate conditions caused the seawater to slowly evaporate, depositing layer upon layer of mineral salts. What remained was a thick mineral brine containing a unique complex of 34 minerals.
The brine lay undisturbed until 1862 when a prospecting company, hoping to strike it rich in oil, tapped instead into a dense mineral water. Discovering that the water was rich in salt, the company tried to salvage the operation. Extracting only salt from this mineral rich mixture was easy, but a low grade salt was all that could be manufactured. As a result the commercial value was reduced and the enterprise was short lived
Fortunately for the town of Mt. Clemens, the mineral-rich brine found a better purpose.
