clay quarry
A site deliberately extracting fine-grained clay deposits for further use, excluding incidental excavation.
A clay quarry is a place where fine-grained mineral deposits, generally some form of aluminum silicate, are dug out of the earth for various uses. Clay can be used in the manufacture of brick, adobe, ceramics (including wall and roof tiles), and is sometimes used as a flooring or paving material.
Excavation sites where clay is dug up incidentally are not considered clay quarries. Only sites where it is deliberately extracted for further use count as quarries.
The intended recovery of clay establishes the quarry use. Clay exposed or removed during unrelated construction does not qualify unless it is deliberately extracted for further use.
Related definitions
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chalk quarry
A site extracting chalk, a soft white calcite material, from an open pit or an underground mine. -
cinder quarry
A site extracting naturally occurring volcanic cinders in bulk for uses such as surfacing, mulch, or material mixtures. -
granite quarry
A site extracting naturally occurring granite from the earth on a large scale, usually as blocks or slabs. -
gravel quarry
A site extracting gravel from the ground in bulk, generally with particles 2 to 64 millimeters across. -
gypsum quarry
A site extracting naturally occurring gypsum, calcium sulfate dihydrate, from the earth in bulk. -
limestone quarry
A site where sedimentary calcium rock is extracted from the earth in large blocks or sheets. -
marble quarry
A site where metamorphic carbonate rock is extracted from the earth in large blocks or sheets. -
sand quarry
A site where loose sand is extracted from the ground or a seabed in large quantities. -
sandstone quarry
A site where sedimentary rock of compacted sand is extracted from the earth in large blocks. -
slate quarry
A site where rock from metamorphized clay is extracted from the earth in large blocks or sheets.