ENCI-groeve Maastricht

The ENCI quarry is a wonderful example of how an industrial area has been returned to nature. Since 1926, lime has been excavated from the ENCI quarry to make cement in the nearby factories. This created a huge pit in the landscape, where older underground marl quarries disappeared. During the excavation of the seventy million year old lime, mainly formed during the 'Maastrichtian' era, ENCI employees came across special fossils. Because the chalk layers originated in a shallow subtropical sea, these were mainly remains of marine animals such as sea urchins and shark teeth. The Maas lizard, or Mosasaurus, also swam here. Several bones have been found from this beast, one of the last species from the age of the dinosaurs. You can admire them in the Natural History Museum in Maastricht.
The ENCI, the First Dutch Cement Industry, was of national importance. For ninety years it was a major supplier of lime for the production of cement. In addition to the extraction of lime, the semi-finished product 'clinker' and the end product cement were also produced. The last lime was not extracted until 2018. The quarry was then redeveloped into a nature reserve thanks to Natuurmonumenten. Now you can enjoy the view over the Maas valley, the quarry and the surrounding woods from a spectacular vantage point. Via 215 stairs you descend into the quarry, past the various chalk layers back in time. Eventually you walk on the former bottom of the Cretaceous Sea.

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