• Pipestone The type of pipestone found here is called Catlinite. • Sioux Quartzite This is the hard pink-colored rock that makes up the cliffs at the Monument and the historic buildings in Pipestone City. This is also the rock that the quarriers need to dig through to get to the pipestone layer. • Granite These hard rocks are not from this area but were brought here by glaciers. Good examples of granite are the Three Maidens. [Illustration: Estimate how tall you think the quartzite layer is.] Pipestone: this layer is approximately 1 foot high⇒ Quartzite: this layer is approximately ___ feet high Quarrying Quarrying is a difficult process. Pipestone is quarried, or taken from out of the ground, by first digging through the grass and soil and then breaking up 10 or more feet of the hard Sioux Quartzite. Then 1 to 1½ feet of pipestone is removed in sheets of about 4 inches thick. The quarriers will use this stone to carve pipes and other small crafts. Today only American Indians are allowed to quarry, and then only with a permit. American Indians from many different tribes come here to quarry pipestone. [Illustration: Pipestone quarry] [Illustration: Here are some examples of tools quarriers use.] Wheelbarrow Crow Bar Demolition Bar Sledge Hammer Work Gloves Shovel Wedge Pry Bar Safety Goggles Whisk Broom Imagine you are a quarrier. Start at the bolded box on top and follow the dotted lines to find out how pipestone is quarried. If you make it to the bolded box on the bottom you have completed your task. [Illustration: Quarry maze] You arrive at the quarry, because the snow melted your pit is full of water. The pump is clogged—go back and try again. The water is pumped out, your pit is now empty. You must break apart the top layer of quartzite. As you were hammering, your wedge broke—go back and try again. You have successfully broken apart the quartzite layer. Use the rubble to build a retaining wall. Pile the quartzite outside of the pit. Your wall fell in—go back to start. There was a hole in your bucket—go back and try again. Your wall held strong. The pit is clear of quartzite rubble. You have reached the Pipestone layer. You find a large piece of stone but you drop it and it breaks—go back and try again. You safely remove a large slab of stone. Now you are ready to carve your stone into a pipe! Pipes Ceremonial pipes, which many people mistakenly call “peace pipes,” are very important for religious use by American Indians. The pipes are used for many reasons, some of which are: for trading, for ceremonies, when meeting with friends, and for prayer. To many American Indians, the smoke from the pipe carry prayers to _Wakan Tanka_, or the Great Spirit.