Gravel pit is the term for an open cast working for extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may fill naturally with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either as nature reserves, or as amenity areas for water sports, camping and walking. In addition, many gravel pits in the United Kingdom have been stocked with freshwater fish such as the common carp to create popular coarse fishing locations.
Famous quotes containing the words gravel and/or pit:
“‘Lay me a green sod under my head,
And another at my feet;
And lay my bent bow at my side,
Which was my music sweet;
And make my grave of gravel and green,
Which is most right and meet.”
—Unknown. Robin Hood’s Death (l. 65–70)
“For tamed and shabby tigers
And dancing dogs and bears,
And wretched, blind pit ponies
And little hunted hares.”
—Ralph Hodgson (c. 1871–1962)