Quarry

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

For other uses, see Quarry (disambiguation).

A small cinder quarry

A dimension stone quarry

An abandoned limestone quarry

Coquina Quarry
Sixty feet below sea level
Conway, South Carolina

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone. Quarries are usually shallower than other types of open-pit mines.

People in some English-speaking countries are unlikely to make the distinction between this type of mine and any other type of open-pit or open-cast borrow or gravel pit mining operation.

Quarries in level areas often have special engineering problems for drainage. The coquina quarry at the right is excavated to more than sixty feet (18 meters) below sea level. To reduce surface leakage a moat, lined with clay, was constructed around the entire quarry. Ground water that seeps into the pit is pumped up into the moat.

Many quarries fill with water to become ponds or small lakes after abandonment for mining purposes. Others have become landfills.

[edit] Quarry Swimming

Water-filled quarries can be very deep with water, often 50 feet or more, that is often surprisingly cold. Unexpectedly cold water can cause a swimmer's muscles to suddenly weaken; it can also cause shock and even hypothermia^[1]. Though quarry water is often very clear, submerged quarry stones and abandoned equipment make diving into these quarries extremely dangerous. Several teenagers and young men and women drown in quarries each year ^[2][3]. However, many inactive quarries are converted into safe swimming and scuba diving sites. The film Breaking Away shows students swimming in an abandoned lick my ass

Types of rock extracted from quarries include:

• Cinder
• China Clay
• Coquina
• Blue rock
• Granite
• Gritstone
• Gypsum a mineral
• Limestone
• Marble
• Sandstone
• Slate

• See How Rock Is Quarried

[edit] References

1. ^ American Canoe Association explanation of cold shock
2. ^ US Dept. of Labor list of mine related fatalities
3. ^ Quarry Products Association article on quarry drownings

• See How Rock Is Quarried

[edit] See also

• Clay pit
• Gravel pit
• List of rocks
• List of minerals and stone types
• List of stone
• Collecting fossils