A flooded quarry on Easdale Island, #Scotland - oncce the center of the British slate industry. #geology #thestoryofslate
John Van Hoesen, Ph.D.
@jvh-vt.bsky.social
I share thoughts on geology, maps, data visualization, and history. Currently exploring stories around the natural and human history of slate. Former Geology Prof | Fulbright Scholar | Vermont
A modern aerial view of Easdale, #Scotland illustrating the extent of slate quarrying #geology #thestoryofslate
Unique method of using wooden pegs to attach Manx slate shingles from the Isle of Man #geology #thestoryofslate
John White Abbott captures splitters at work in 'Slate Quarry at Widecombe, Devon' c.1792 #geology #thestoryofslate
World class fossils like this starfish are found in Devonian age Hunsrück Slate, Germany #geology #thestoryofslate
Brave and trusting quarrymen 'commuting' to work in the deep quarries of Monson, #Maine. #geology #thestoryofslate
Incredibly detailed view of the slate banks, slate wagons, and multiple water wheels at the Lletchwedd Slate Quarry in #Wales c.1894. #geology #thestoryofslate
Hand-trimming some Lakeland Green Slate surrounded by small remnants, illustrating the quarrymen's risk of silicosis - Cumbria, UK #geology #thestoryofslate
John Warwick Smith captures highwalls & splitters in 'The Slate Quarries at Bron Llwyd' in #Wales. link.www.storyofslate.com/CYECZa #geology #thestoryofslate
Slate wagon types provided by the London & North Western Railway and Great Western Railway #geology #thestoryofslate
Interior scene of a slate sawing mill in the Wynne Slate Quarry - Denbighshire, UK #geology #thestoryofslate
Some of the most detailed carved slate gravestones I've seen are in the Arvonia Memorial Cemetery, #Virgina. Most were carved by Morris R. Jones & his work is among my favorite. These are two carved in the same style; garlands, flowers, bibles, screw heads - lots of detail! #geology #thestoryofslate
A windlass winch being used in French quarries to hoist slate slabs & bail out the excess water #geology #thestoryofslate
An absolutely stunning approach to slate roofing in Ottoman-esque Gjirokastër, Albania #geology #thestoryofslate
Mysterious etched slate tablet that was found inside an abandoned well, originally though to be a 'Rosetta' stone of 17th-century Jamestown, #Virginia. Experts used reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) to reveal faint etchings & found it was just a practice tablet. #geology #thestoryofslate
The introduction of excavators increased yield in quarries - view of Hatch Hill quarry, #Vermont c.1956. #geology #thestoryofslate
Sketch of the Greaves' Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog, #Wales. Where 'trap rock' = poor quality stone. #geology #thestoryofslate
An interior view of a slate mill in Blaenau Ffestiniog, #Wales. The large impressive mallet is known as a Rhys Mawr (which translates to Big Rhys, where Rhys is a male name -- it was common for the quarrymen to give their tools names). #geology #thestoryofslate
1865 stock certificate for 25 shares from the #Pennsylvania Slate Company of the Lehigh Valley. #geology #thestoryofslate
The Humphreys' quarry of Delta, #Pennsylvania was one of the 1st commercial slate quarries in the US. You can see a quarry stick raising a slab of slate, a signal shanty on the edge of the quarry, and another terrifying ladder. #geology #thestoryofslate
A collapsible children's chalkboard from School Natural Slate Company - Slatington, #Pennsylvania. #geology #thstoryofslate
An ad from the National School Slate Company in Slatington, #Pennsylvania for school slate supplies #geology #thestoryofslate
A 1979 stamp sheet of Alice and the White Rabbit looking into a slate quarry in Llechwedd, #Wales. Story here: link.www.storyofslate.com/0avomD #geology #thestoryofslate
A paperweight from the Vermont Structural Slate Company - Fair Haven, #Vermont. #geology #thestoryofslate
The slate disposal 'headache' solved by the introduction of dump trucks from the coal industry #geology #thestoryofslate
An 1890 stock certificate for 50 shares in the Merrill Brownville Slate Company, #Maine. #geology #thestoryofslate
Samples of Lehigh Valley slates from the North Bangor Slate Company, #Pennsylvania #geology #thestoryofslate
One of my favorite slate gravestones I've encountered while wandering local cemeteries, this one is located in Halifax, #Vermont. I had read about the 'felled tree of life' iconography, but never seen it in person until this stone! #geology #thestoryofslate
