Monday, February 8, 2016

Arabia Mountain DeKalb County


954 ft above sea level. One of three stone outcrops in Georgia, Stone Mountain being the largest. The outcrops are called monadnocks and this out crop is made of a rock called migmatite. It was a mined just south of Lithonia Ga. and was used to make the U. S. Naval Academy and the Brooklyn Bridge as well as streets and curbs in Atlanta, and surrounding cities. The rock pattern was famous and was called Tidal Grey.
Several federally and state end...angered plants are located here, one being the red succulent seen in these pictures, Small's Stonecrop or Elf Orpine, - diamorpha smallii. You can see the evidence of mining by hand on the edge of the rock by the small drilled holes used to split the rock.
The Davidson family owned a lot of the area and as a secondary product, the stone got famous for another reason. It was prized by chicken farmers, the stone was used for chicken grit, an additive to feed to help chickens digest more efficiently. In 1949 , 1.5 billions were hatched and each consumed 1/2 pounds of grit in the first 12 weeks. Needless to say, this quarry produced a lot of rock. It is now a nature area, donated by the Davidsons. Plants bloom in March to April. Such a otherworldly place!
I've talked to people from Lithonia this year and even they have no idea this place is here.
These were taken 4/19/2015 by me after training in Atlanta for work.
Jeff Bucklew

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