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Wednesday Fun Facts about Aidu quarry, where our canoeing trip takes place.
Opening of the Aidu quarry:
In 1974, the October oil shale quarry was opened in Ida-Virumaa. The former surface mine is now called Aidu Quarry. Almost 2.4 million tons of oil shale were mined there annually, during the 38 years of operation a total of about 90 million tons of oil shale was mined, which would be enough to burn one million light bulbs for 70 years. Lake Võrtsjärv could be filled four times with the total production of the quarry. However, the quarry area (34 km2) is about the same as that of the two Kihnu islands.
The largest excavator:
The largest excavator in the Soviet Union also worked in the quarry, employing as many as seven men at a time in one shift: from a machine, two first aids, two-second aids, and two locksmith lubricators. The volume of the excavator bucket was 35 m3. To understand this size, one can imagine, for example, an elongated corridor with a width of 1.75 meters, a length of 10 meters and a height of 2 meters – just as much oil shale could fit in each bucket filling. The machine weighed 4021 tons. This can be compared, for example, to the weight of 27 blue whales or 2800 Mini Coopers.
Closing of the Aidu quarry:
Aidu’s career ended in 2012 due to the depletion of stocks. After the quarry closed, the driveways and excavations began to fill with water. Thus, in the middle of the rocky desert, Estonia formed its light blue lagoon. Covering rocks – carbonate rocks and limestone – are partially soluble in water and gypsum begins to form. The water reflected from the gypsum crystals causes a beautiful light blue color.
We have a vitality-boosting canoe trip in Estonia, in forementioned quarry
Go check it out and maybe even imagine how did such beast could work in such a big quarry
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