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Old 10-15-2010, 12:05 AM
 
Location: Chamblee
222 posts, read 752,386 times
Reputation: 108

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I hope they put up some safety fences; that's a LONG way down!

Quarry thumbnails

I be interested to know just how long!
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Old 10-15-2010, 12:17 AM
 
Location: Georgia native in McKinney, TX
8,057 posts, read 12,853,346 times
Reputation: 6323
I wonder why they say it will be 2040 before they fill the resvoir up?
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Old 10-15-2010, 12:36 AM
 
Location: Savannah GA
13,709 posts, read 21,909,282 times
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It will probably take that long to fill it up! Seriously ... reservoirs without a natural (or naturally sufficient) water source can be filled by pumping in water from another location, gradually -- say, the nearby Chattahoochee, so as not to overly deplete the flow in the river. This is quite common for reservoirs that are simply "holding tanks" for water. The Lake Horton Reservoir in Fayette County is filled with water pumped into it from the Flint River more than two miles away. Of course, the water then has to be returned to the same watershed, which in this case it shouldn't be a problem because the Atlanta sewer return is back into the Chattahoochee.

If you see on the Google map, the Atlanta water works is just a stone's throw from the site of the quarry. This is brilliant and could be the fix for ATL's long-term water woes. Does anybody know if the city has already gotten the proper permits to do this?!

I had no idea this quarry was smack dab in the middle of the city, but if you look at Google maps closely there are similar big holes in the ground all over Metro Atlanta -- one HUGE one just south of the Airport near where I-85 and I-285 split, and another in western Fayette County, between Tyrone and Peachtree City. There's aslo a huge quarry in Gwinnett County, right off I-85 near Beaver Ruin Road. You'd never know any of them are there because ... well ... they're big holes in the ground!

It should not need pointing out that all these quarries are tapping into veins of Stone Mountain granite! Another fascinating secret of Atlanta revealed!

And that is ONE ... BIG ... HOLE! Scary! My palms got sweaty just looking at the photos!
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Old 10-15-2010, 07:40 AM
 
7,845 posts, read 20,798,987 times
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Very impressive photos...it will be a beautiful centerpiece to a much-needed new city park.
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Old 10-15-2010, 12:38 PM
 
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,485 posts, read 14,987,215 times
Reputation: 7328
Quote:
Originally Posted by Newsboy View Post
I had no idea this quarry was smack dab in the middle of the city, but if you look at Google maps closely there are similar big holes in the ground all over Metro Atlanta -- one HUGE one just south of the Airport near where I-85 and I-285 split, and another in western Fayette County, between Tyrone and Peachtree City. There's aslo a huge quarry in Gwinnett County, right off I-85 near Beaver Ruin Road. You'd never know any of them are there because ... well ... they're big holes in the ground!
Yeah, there are tones of these quarries all over town...many of which just a few minutes from the city. Here are just a few from browsing around Google Maps:

Lithonia
Google Maps

Google Maps

Google Maps

Google Maps

Forest Park
Google Maps

Google Maps

Union City
Google Maps

Lithia Springs
Google Maps


And probably a lot more.

You may have noticed though that these quarries are all lined up in a southwest to northeast line on the southern side of the metro headed in the direction of Stone Mountain. The reason for this is that these formations are literally all apart of the same vein of "granite" that Stone Mountain is made out off.

II heard once that some have theorized it runs all the way from Alabama into North Carolina

But the quarries are but only one very interesting aspect of this line of granite. Not many people know that Stone Mountain has a "sister" mountain just a few miles away in South Dekalb called Arabia Mountain. It's just much smaller and really amounts to a big hill. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in natural beauty:




Flickr: 65mb's Photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/belikinbreath/ - broken link)




Hard to believe that is only 20 miles from Downtown Atlanta.
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Old 10-15-2010, 12:46 PM
 
7,845 posts, read 20,798,987 times
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Thank you waronxmas! I've heard of Arabia Mountain but never been there...and I didn't know about all of those quarries.
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Old 10-15-2010, 12:51 PM
 
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,485 posts, read 14,987,215 times
Reputation: 7328
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconJ View Post
Thank you waronxmas! I've heard of Arabia Mountain but never been there...and I didn't know about all of those quarries.
I haven't been either, but I've been planning on going on a hike there some time this Fall. Probably when the leaves start to change more or when I stop being lazy about it. Which ever comes first.
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Old 10-15-2010, 02:10 PM
 
32,019 posts, read 36,763,165 times
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We have been to Arabia several times and it is beautiful. It was an extremely generous gift by the Davidsons, who lived over in Avondale.

By the way, anybody who doesn't think South DeKalb is luxurious will have their eyes opened on the drive out that way.
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Old 10-15-2010, 02:17 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,582 posts, read 10,764,755 times
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I wish I remember where, but I recently read in an article that reservoir will be able to hold about a 30 day supply for the city (proper) of Atlanta, so it will help but I don't think it is the one answer. I think this also means they will have to be able to fill it up over short periods of time during wet seasons for it to be worthwhile.

The quarry in Gwinnett is still active. You can see dump trucks entering Beaver Ruin Rd at a traffic light fairly close to I-85. You can also see huge Mounds of displaced and processed earth behind a small layer of trees from Indian Trail Road near Tech Drive/HillCrest Rd/Singleton Rd.
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Old 10-15-2010, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Savannah GA
13,709 posts, read 21,909,282 times
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Those Arabia Mountain pictures look like it was quarried at one time? I'm sure that's the case, since large chunks of Stone Mountain were also cut away before the state purchased the property and turned it into a park. You can walk amongst the old quarry zones, on the east size of the mountain I think? I always get turned around when I'm there ... never know which direction I'm facing.

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