Gravel Quarries: Alaska

The making of any modern western civilization is incumbent on the very ground on which it is built. The gravel pit is the lowest common denominator in the making of (for better or worse) our cities. Gravel is quarried for roads, building foundations, the making of concrete and even for decorative uses in landscaping. The humble gravel pit, it can be said, is the very foundation of our highways, towns, and homes. In Alaska the gravel pit lives on beyond its practical use; as a quick respite for campers or as impromptu rifle range for target practice are but a few of its many ancillary uses. With the Lower 48s manicured RV parks and no camping signs the gravel pit in Alaska symbolizes the old Alaska; the rough and ready, makeshift pioneering-spirit Alaska.