Clay Pit Pond facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Clay Pit Pond |
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Clay Pit Pond
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 Clay Pit Pond
Location in Massachusetts
Clay Pit Pond
Location in the United States
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| Location | Belmont, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°23′38″N 71°09′54″W / 42.39389°N 71.16500°W |
| Primary inflows | Wellington Brook culvert |
| Primary outflows | culvert to Blair Pond |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Islands | 1 |
Clay Pit Pond, also known as Claypit Pond, is a special pond located in Belmont, Massachusetts. You can find it between Concord Avenue and Belmont High School. This pond isn't natural; people created it! It was dug out to get clay for making bricks a long time ago. Today, the pond is an important part of Belmont's water drainage system.
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How Clay Pit Pond Was Made
Clay Pit Pond has an interesting history. It started as a big hole in the ground. This hole was dug to get clay. Clay is a type of soil used to make things like bricks.
Digging for Clay
The first brick-making company, Parry Brothers, started digging for clay here in 1888. Later, in 1900, a bigger company called New England Brick Company took over. They made a lot of bricks, about 15 million every year! Around 75 people worked there.
The best quality clay ran out by 1926. So, the company stopped working at the site. It's even said that an old steam shovel was left behind at the bottom of the pit!
From Clay Pit to Pond
After the brick company left, the town of Belmont bought the empty pit in 1927. They paid $22,500 for it. At first, they thought about using it as a dump for waste.
But in 1933, the town had a different idea. They decided to fill the pit with water. They moved a stream called Wellington Brook into the pit. This filled the pit with about 80 million gallons of water! That's how Clay Pit Pond was formed.
Who Lives in the Pond?
Even though it's a man-made pond, many creatures live in Clay Pit Pond. You can find different kinds of fish here. Some of the fish that call this pond home include bluegill, common carp, and largemouth bass.
Pond Overflows
Sometimes, after a lot of rain, the pond can get very full. In March 2010, after two days of heavy rain, Clay Pit Pond overflowed. The water went onto the nearby road. This caused the high school next to the pond to close for a short time.
