Carbaugh Run Rhyolite Quarry Site

The Carbaugh Run Rhyolite Quarry Site is an archaeological location spread across about 101 acres on Snaggy Ridge, west of Carbaugh Run. The site shows approximately forty excavation pits where people once dug for rhyolite, a volcanic stone useful for making sharp tools and weapons.

Norman Keefer discovered this site in the 1920s, leading to its listing in the National Register of Historic Places in January 1986. People mined this location across different periods, leaving behind the pits and deposits visible today.

Indigenous peoples came to this location to extract rhyolite, a volcanic rock they used to make tools and weapons for hunting and daily tasks. The marks of their work remain visible across the landscape today.

The site is a remote location used by researchers to study rhyolite and understand where similar rocks were used across the region. A visit requires careful observation to notice the excavation pits and other features across the large landscape.

This quarry is one of only three known prehistoric mining sites along South Mountain where both extraction areas and an associated settlement remain visible. This combination makes it rare for understanding how people lived and worked together in one location.

Location: Pennsylvania

GPS coordinates: 39.88400,-77.45733

Latest update: December 14, 2025 09:43