ELEMENTARY GEOGRAPHY Part Seven: Digging up rocks Coal miners PHOTO: California Historical Society Do you know what it means to mine something? It means to dig it up, or pull it off the walls of a cave, then sell it. Many types of rocks are mined in Tennessee. Three examples of rocks that are mined are coal, limestone and marble. Coal is black and rocky; it looks sort of like charcoal but is much heavier. When pure coal catches on fire it burns for a long time and gives off a lot of heat. Many years ago, most homes were heated with a coal furnace. In fact, if you live in an old house, you many find remnants of a pile of coal in your cellar. A limestone operation in Cumberland County If you stick a shovel in the ground in Tennessee you will more than likely run into lightly-colored rocks within a foot or so. Most of this rock is limestone, and among other things it is used to building buildings and pave roads. Today limestone is still heavily mined at about a dozen large mines (or quarries, as they are called) located in rural areas. This old bank lobby has a lot of marble in it. PHOTO: AmSouth Bank If you go into an old government building or a bank you may see a lot of marble -- a hard and smooth grade of limestone. Some of the best marble in the world comes from East Tennessee. In fact, most of the marble in the U.S. Capitol building came from Tennessee because the marble here is such good marble. Click here to be taken to the Hawkins County history page, where you'll learn more about marble. We've talked about crops, livestock, and rocks. What about things people make? Click here.