The world's largest granite quarries, four miles southeast of Barre off I-89 exit 6, cover 50 acres, tapping a granite vein that's a whopping 6 miles long, 4 miles wide and 10 miles deep. Most fascinating is the 35-minute guided minibus tour of the active quarry, where you can gaze down on seemingly ant-size workers in hard hats extracting massive granite blocks at the bottom of a 600-foot-deep pit.
The beautiful, durable, granular stone, formed more than 330 million years ago, is used for tombstones, building facades, monuments, curbstones and tabletops. The quarry tour also includes a short video, historical exhibits and a trip to the factory, where you can watch granite products being made – some with an accuracy that approaches 25 millionths of an inch.
