Variations in salt-grain size, structure, and distribution; banding; insoluble composition and distribution; hydrocarbon content; and primary structures are significant in the interpretation of the environment of salt deposition. In the Hutchinson salt (Permian) of Kansas, ripple marks, large-scale polygons, minor unconformities, and composition indicate deposition in a basin of shallow depth with periodic subaerial exposure of at least the marginal portions of the basin.