Geographia Polonica (2012) vol. 85, iss. 4
Quarries In Landscape And Geotourism
Geographia Polonica (2012) vol. 85, iss. 4, pp. 5-12 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/GPol.2012.4.20
Abstract
In Poland there are about 590 actively quarried deposits of mineral resources referred to as natural building stone, orquarry stone (database Midas). According to data from the Polish Geological Institute 730 medium and large quarriesare located throughout the country. Most of the quarries work sandstone, limestone, granite, basalt or dolomite. The largestPolish sites exceed 1 km2 in area, while those in other countries can be larger than 10 km2. Once its mineral workingoperations cease, a quarry begins functioning in harmony with the landscape as a former mineral working site. That iswhen the biotic and abiotic elements arrive at a state of equilibrium. The scenic function of a quarry should be interpretedas a set of elements, composed of escarpments, cliffs, spoil heaps, the stage of exploitation, etc. The paper discusses theimpact of quarries on the landscape and their potential value for geotourism.
Keywords: landscape, quarry, visualisation, geotourism, Poland
, University of Silesia Faculty of Earth Sciences Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec: Poland