Other Intersting Quarries

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Bluestone Quarries

Bluestone is a Devonian sandstone quarried extensively in northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York.  It has been used, primarily for pavements, for two centuries on the eastern coast of the United States. It is actively quarried at many locations and is shipped around the United States and Canada.

Bluestone quarry extracting blocks.

Cutting sawn-edge bluestone paving.

Cutting sawn-edge bluestone paving.

Finished sawn-edge bluestone.

Brownstone Quarry

Brownstone is a Triassic sandstone that was deposited in parts of Connecticut and surrounding states.  Brownstone was used extensively in the 17th and 18th centuries on many buildings in New York City and around the upper east coast of the U.S.  Brownstone quarrying was a major industry for a long time; however, in 1936 during the depression a storm flooded the quarries and most were never reopened.  The only quarry presently operating is by Portland Brownstone Quarries in Portland, CT.

Brownstone blocks being quarried at Portland Brownstone Quarries.

Brownstone blocks at Portland Brownstone Quarries.

Brownstone building in Manhattan.

Brownstone at Battery Park in Manhattan.

Cararra, Italy

The city of Cararra, Italy has been a stone quarrying and carving center for millenia.  The marbles quarried in the Apuan Alps near Cararra were used for Michaelagelo’s David as well as countless other statues and structures during Roman times.  These marbles are still quarried and shipped around the world.  The images show active and ancient quarries that can be visited today.

The Apuan Alps near Carrara are littered with quarries.

Modern Carrara quarry.

Modern Carrara quarry.

Modern Carrara quarry.

Operations at a Carrara quarry.

Limestone Quarries

Limestone and the related rocks dolomite and travertine are quarried throughout the world.  Limestone quarries typically extract large quarry blocks which are then sawn and/or broken down into a great variety of products.

Drilling limestone blocks.

Indiana limestone quarry.

Indiana limestone quarry.

Abandoned limestone quarry.

Granite Quarries

Granites, along with related crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks, are quarried throughout the world, particularly in China and India.  Granites are typically quarried in large blocks which are then sawn down into everything from countertops to building stones.

Rock of Ages quarry in Barre, Vermont.

Lifting a 50-ton block at Rock of Ages.

Drilling and splitting a granite block.

Abandoned quarries in Barre, Vermont.

Abandoned quarry in Barre, Vermont.

Abandoned blocks near Barre, Vermont.

Abandoned blocks near Barre, Vermont.

Abandoned blocks near Barre, Vermont.

Splitting drilled blocks at a granite quarry.

Granite quarry blocks ready for processing.