Salt comes from three main natural sources:

1. Evaporation of seawater, where salt is left behind after the water evaporates, especially in shallow ponds or bays. This method produces sea salt and is most effective in dry climates with low rainfall.
2. Mining of underground salt deposits called rock salt or halite, which are ancient deposits of dried-up seas. These salt beds are found underground and are mined physically or dissolved with water to produce salt brine.
3. Salt brines, where salt is extracted from natural salty water using evaporation or other processing methods. Common table salt is often produced from these brines.

Salt in the ocean itself comes from the erosion of rocks on land by rainwater, which carries dissolved salts into the ocean, and from underwater volcanic activity that releases minerals and salts into seawater.