Jefferson Island is a protruding salt dome in Louisiana, along with four other similar structures. They were formed through the slow evaporation of the ocean and have rich deposits of salt, oil, and gas. Jefferson Island was purchased by actor Joseph Jefferson in 1869 and has a mansion on the National Register of Historic Places. The Diamond Salt Company and Texaco have exploited the resources, and the salt dome is now used to store natural gas. In 1980, Texaco caused nearby Peigneur Lake to collapse into the salt mine, forming impressive geysers.
Jefferson Island is a salt dome located in Iberia Parish in southern Louisiana. The term “island” is a bit of a misnomer, as Jefferson Island and neighboring Avery Island are not actually islands, but rather protruding salt domes that stand out from the surrounding landscape. These salt domes were formed through the slow evaporation of the ocean that once covered the area and are a substantial natural resource.
This island is one of a group of similar structures known collectively as the Five Islands. In addition to Avery Island, the Five Islands also include Weeks, Belle Isle and Cote Blanche. Each of the islands sits atop a salt dome, and in addition to salt, the Five Islands also have rich deposits of oil and gas that have been heavily exploited over the years. Due to the salt deposits on the Five Islands, they became a fiercely defended property during the Civil War when salt was scarce. Avery Island, owned by the Tabasco Company, was also once used for the production of cayenne peppers.
Originally, Jefferson Island was known as Orange Island. It was purchased by the actor Joseph Jefferson in 1869 for the purpose of establishing a summer home, and was eventually named after him. Jefferson built a mansion on the site which is now on the National Register of Historic Places; the villa is now surrounded by extensive gardens founded by John Lyle Bayless, who bought the island after Jefferson’s death.
The Diamond Salt Company mined salt on the island until 1986, while Texaco drilled for natural oil and gas resources. Today, the underground salt dome is used to store natural gas because it is a very stable environment for long-term storage. There have been some speculations that the Five Islands salt domes would also make a good storage facility for nuclear material, although concerns about the risk of seepage make these suggestions unlikely to ever be implemented.
In 1980, Jefferson Island attracted national attention when Texaco made an unfortunate mistake while drilling for oil, causing nearby Peigneur Lake to collapse into the salt mine on Jefferson Island. The lake formed a vortex that sucked a wide variety of objects into the mine, and the area was inundated with water from the Delcambre Canal, which normally flowed in the opposite direction. As the salt mine filled with water, it let out the air, forming impressive geysers that towered over the area for several days until the water pressure equalized.
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