Ancient Sea Bed EarthCache
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This Earth Cache is located in Stonewall Quarry Park on the edge of
town. You can find picnic facilities and easy walking trails as
well as an Interpretive Center.
The Stonewall Quarry Park displays the many aspects of limestone
production in the late 1880s early 1900s. The history of the site
is documented in interpretive signs as well as in the museum. This
one focuses on the limestone quarries and their role in the
development of the community. A rich fossil display is also
presented to visitors.
Quarrying at Stonewall began ca.1880 as part of an emerging
limestone industry in southern and Central Manitoba. The Stonewall
quarries were noted for their continuous production of various
limestone-based construction materials. The quarries were long the
economic mainstay of the town.
While ordinary building stone was taken in the early years of
settlement, the most significant aspect of the Stonewall trade was
to be the high quality of the quicklime produced in the kilns by
burning limestone.
The remnants of exposed limestone ledges, butte formations,
excavations and a quarry pond are some of the features that can be
seen in the park.
Dominating the landscape are three massive “draw” kilns, as well as
the ruins of early “pot” kilns used in the limestone burning
process.
With the influx of settlement to the province after 1870 and the
building boom of the 1880s, demand increased for the stone and lime
necessary for the construction of buildings and houses throughout
southern Manitoba.
Entrepreneur S. J. “Stonewall” Jackson saw the potential for
establishing a quarry and began enticing people and businesses to
the area after 1880. In the early years “pot” kilns were used to
obtain quicklime. Six to ten days were needed to complete the
burning process which involved filling the kiln (which was usually
built into the side of a hill to facilitate loading), burning the
rock, cooling the lime, and drawing out the quicklime and storing
it.
Later, larger “draw” kilns, such as the three located in the park,
were constructed and were capable of producing from six to ten
tonnes of quicklime per day. These draw kilns operated until the
quarry closed in the 1960s.
Limestone originally formed in several of the major geological
time periods, especially those in which wide shallow seas covered
much of the earth’s surface. The stone itself was formed after
millions of years of accumulation of the remains of small sea
creatures and decomposed vegetable matter on the sea floor. During
limestone formation, complete animal and plant remains of the
period were sometimes covered and “fossilized.” Today, many fossil
remains are visible in the layers of limestone at the site. Those
includes creatures such as brachiopods, trilobites, corals and
ephalopods.
The limestone in Stonewall was formed 450 million years ago. At
that time, this entire region was covered by a warm tropical sea
known as the Ordovician Sea.
Information for this Earth Cache was taken from the Manitoba
Historical Society and the City of Stonewall.
Requirements
To log this Earth Cache, you must answer these two questions and
email me the correct answers.
Question 1
What was special about the quicklime produced in Stonewall and what
was it primarily used for?
Question 2
In what year did commercial quarrying come to an end and which
limestone formation was mainly used in this area?
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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