Abstract
In Poland there are about 590 actively quarried deposits of mineral resources referred to as natural building stone, or quarry stone (database Midas). According to data from the Polish Geological Institute 730 medium and large quarries are located throughout the country. Most of the quarries work sandstone, limestone, granite, basalt or dolomite. The largest Polish sites exceed 1 km 2 in area, while those in other countries can be larger than 10 km 2 . Once its mineral working operations cease, a quarry begins functioning in harmony with the landscape as a former mineral working site. That is when the biotic and abiotic elements arrive at a state of equilibrium. The scenic function of a quarry should be interpreted as a set of elements, composed of escarpments, cliffs, spoil heaps, the stage of exploitation, etc. The paper discusses the impact of quarries on the landscape and their potential value for geotourism.
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