バッサンジュの峡谷・トップ11

There are old flint quarries in this area: the “Carrières de silex du Thier des Vignes”.

A mysterious flint cave on the edge of the Albert Canal, near the locks at Klein Ternaaien. You reach the entrance via a steep path through the woods. The caves are dark, cool, and full of atmosphere—perfect for those who love hidden natural spaces. Bring a flashlight and good walking shoes!

Info about these caves: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strooberggroeve

The Blankenberg quarry, also known as the Wolfskop quarry, is located in South Limburg not far from Cadier en Keer. The extraction of the rock in this above-ground quarry ended in 1946. The quarry is particularly interesting because the boundary between the limestone of the Gulpen Formation and the Maastricht Formation can be seen and because it contains a special flint bank. When we enter the quarry site, we see this special flint bank at the bottom of the rock face. It is part of the Lanaye Limestone (Gulpen Formation), which has a total of 23 flint banks. This bank, which is no less than 2½ metres thick, probably concerns the merging of flint banks 6 and 7 or even banks 6 to 9. In the past, the flint from this bank was extracted for building purposes. The fairly white limestone above the flint bank also belongs to the Lanaye Limestone. This limestone forms the upper part of the Gulpen Formation. Above it begins the Maastricht Formation, with yellow limestone. The Valkenburg Limestone is exposed, which forms the lower part of the Maastricht Formation. The boundary between both formations is formed by the Lichtenberg Horizon. The package of limestone and flint is covered with loess from the Pleistocene. Source and more: https://www.debelemniet.nl/itemgroeveblankenberg.html And you can also climb up the stairs along the quarry to view everything and of course for the necessary views, where a bench stands next to a beautiful split but strong tree where, according to some traces, a cross or other object may once have hung.

Impressive, you can see some caves.

Wonderful single track with deliciously scented wild garlic on both sides.

The Trichterberg quarry is located in the forest to the left of the steep Eckelraderweg, between Gronsveld and Eckelrade. Diagonally opposite are dole chambers. The quarry has been designated as a “Geological Monument”. Steep limestone walls with here and there sawn surfaces and a few small corridor remains are the only remains. Not much is known about the Trichterberg quarry. That is why Peter Jennekens, Kevin Amendt and Rob Habets wrote a source overview for the magazine of the Study Group Underground Limestone Quarries - Natural History Society in Limburg. Based on this, they cautiously conclude that the origin of the quarry must lie somewhere between the years 1846 and 1867. The entire PDF with all sources can be found at https://www.sok.nl (November 2013 edition).

Text board [see photo] Limestone quarry Trichterberg Geological Monument Limestone quarry Trichterberg In the past, limestone was mined at this location. This limestone was used as building blocks and at a later time for fertilizing (oenergelen) fields and meadows ` In the upper Cretaceous (80 to 65 million years ago) the whole of South Limburg was flooded by a 'Cretaceous sea'. Many plants and animals that are now extinct lived in this tropical sea. The limestone visible here consists of countless skeletons of small plants and animals that formed the plankton. Many large animals also lived in this Cretaceous sea, such as the ten-meter-long 'Mosasaur'. Flint Flint is a hard rock that can form in pure limestone under very special circumstances. Flint consists of pure silica (SiO2). In the Stone Age, this rock was used for making stone tools. Until the last century, flint was used to make fire using the Tinderbox.