Anamosa Limestone or Anamosa Member is a

dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomiti ...

limestone

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

out of

Stone City, Iowa Stone City is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Jones County, Iowa, Jones County, Iowa, United States. Stone City began as a company town for the workers of the local quarries. Stone City is known f ...

, which is located along the

Wapsipinicon River The Wapsipinicon River (, locally known as the Wapsi) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 starting n ...

about two miles west of

Anamosa, Iowa Anamosa is a city in Jones County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,450 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jones County. History What is now Anamosa was founded as the settlement of Buffalo Forks in 1838 and incorporated as ...

. It is distinguished by its uniform texture, color, and banding, its durability and most of all by its distinct planar and undulating

varve A varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock. The word 'varve' derives from the Swedish word ''varv'' whose meanings and connotations include 'revolution', 'in layers', and 'circle'. The term first appeared as ''Hvarfig lera'' (var ...

–like

lamination Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials ...

s. Anderson, Wayne I.; ''Iowa'S Geological Past: Three Billion Years Of Change,'' University Of Iowa Press, 1998, p. 122 This distinctive stone forms part of the Gower Formation, the youngest

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

strata in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. The Gower is overlain

unconformably An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

by a mid–

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

formation. The color classification is Buff, which is described as a warm shade of light to moderate gold.

Notable buildings

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Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

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Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

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Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand ...

, alt4 = Anamosa Limestone has been quarried in

Stone City The Stone City () is the site of an ancient fortified city within Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. Almost all of the original city is gone; all that remains are portions of the massive city wall. History The original town was built during the W ...

since the 1850s and has been used in building construction, bridges, and bridge piers. Historic buildings such as King Chapel at

Anamosa State Penitentiary Anamosa State Penitentiary is a maximum security penitentiary prison located in the Jones County community of Anamosa, Iowa – approximately northeast of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Prison Operation As of 21 February 2016, the penitentiary was home ...

in Anamosa, Iowa, and Lincoln School in Rock Island, Illinois were built using Anamosa Stone. Anamosa Stone can also be seen in new construction all over the United States, such as the

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

References

Limestone formations of the United States Geologic formations of Iowa Building stone

Notable buildings

See also

References