01/05/2019 Sand Grains from Around the World!

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Sand
Sand isn't a boring material if you know what you are looking at!

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Experts in lling
technology. Over
150 engineers
and technicians Gobi Desert sand: Highly rounded sand grains from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Wind-blown sand sustains repeated tiny
impacts as it bounces along Earth's surface. These impacts gradually abrade sharp protrusions from the grains and give
at your service. their surface a "frosted" luster. The width of this view is approximately 10 millimeters. Photograph by Siim Sepp, used here
under a Creative Commons License.

Thinking About Sand Olivine Sand - Papakolea Beach, Hawaii

Sand is a common material found on beaches,
deserts, stream banks, and other landscapes
worldwide. In the mind of most people, sand is a white
Categories or tan, fine-grained, granular material. However, sand
Astronomy is much more diverse - even beyond the pink sand
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beaches of Bermuda or the black sand beaches of
Earthquakes Hawaii. These are just a few of the many types of
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sand.
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What is Sand?
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Gold The word "sand" is actually used for a "particle size"
Igneous Rocks rather than for a "material." Sand is a loose, granular
Landslides
Metals material with particles that range in size between 1/16
Metamorphic Rocks millimeter and 2 millimeters in diameter. It can be
Meteorites
Minerals composed of mineral material such as quartz, Green olivine sand from Papakolea Beach, Hawaii. The
Oceanography white grains are coral fragments, and the gray-black grains
orthoclase, or gypsum; organic material such as
Oil and Gas are pieces of basalt. If you think the grains have a
Plate Tectonics mollusk shells, coral fragments, or radiolarian tests; or "gemmy" appearance, olivine is the mineral name of a
Rocks rock fragments such as basalt, pumice, or chert. gemstone known as "peridot." This image represents a 10
Rock Tumblers
Satellite Images Where sand accumulates in large quantities, it can be millimeter x 10 millimeter view. Photograph by Siim Sepp,
Sedimentary Rocks used here under a Creative Commons License.
lithified into a sedimentary rock known as
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Most sands form when rock materials are broken down by weathering and transported by a stream to their
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place of deposition. A few types form when the shell or skeletal materials of organisms are broken up and

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01/05/2019 Sand Grains from Around the World!
All Products transported. A few rare sands are formed chemically
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Colorado Map Pink Coral Sand - Bermuda
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Kentucky Map This photograph illustrates the size range of sand. The
Louisiana Map small tan sand grains in this photo are of a fine-grained
Maine Map sand from Qafsah, Tunisia. They are about 1/16 millimeter
Maryland Map
in diameter - the lower limit for a grain to be called "sand
Massachusetts Map
Michigan Map size." The large brown grain is from near Worthing,
Minnesota Map England. It is a grain of coarse sand about 2 millimeters in
Mississippi Map diameter - the upper limit for a grain to be called "sand
Missouri Map size." Although sand particles are all tiny in size, there is
Montana Map an enormous relative size range between the smallest and
Nebraska Map
Nevada Map
largest. Public domain photo by Renee1137.
New Hampshire Map
New Jersey Map
New Mexico Map
New York Map Some of the beaches of Bermuda have a light pink color
North Carolina Map Unusual Types of Sand caused by fragments of pink coral in the sand. The sand
North Dakota Map also contains fragments of mollusks, forams and other
Ohio Map This page shows photos of a few types of sand that organisms. This is a good example of an organic sand.
Oklahoma Map
Oregon Map can be found worldwide. Most of the examples here This image represents a 20 millimeter x 20 millimeter view.
Pennsylvania Map are not typical. They are unusual types of sand that Photograph by Siim Sepp, used here under a Creative
Rhode Island Map Commons License.
South Carolina Map might only be found in a few locations worldwide.
South Dakota Map These unusual sands are a product of the types of
Tennessee Map
Texas Map material from which they are derived, the methods Volcanic Sand - Santorini, Greece
Utah Map used to transport them, the chemical environment of
Vermont Map
Virginia Map their deposition site, and numerous other factors.
Washington Map After examining these photos you will probably
West Virginia Map
Wisconsin Map conclude that sand can be a very diverse and
Wyoming Map interesting material.

Thanks to the many photographers who shared their

photos through a Creative Commons License. Please
see an attribution in the caption of each photo. A
person would have to travel the world to get a
collection of photos like this.

Garnet and Magnetite - Fire Island, NY

Volcanic rock fragments are the primary ingredient in this

sand from Perissa beach on the island of Santorini,
Greece, along with some quartz grains and shell
fragments. Photograph by Stan Zurek, used here under a
Creative Commons License.

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01/05/2019 Sand Grains from Around the World!
This sand is from Fire Island National Seashore, New York.
While quartz is the most abundant ingredient of Fire Island
sands, abundant garnet, magnetite, and feldspar are
often found, along with minor amounts of tourmaline, shell
fragments and other mineral grains. Photo by the National
Park Service.
Volcanic Sand - Christmas Lake, Oregon
This sand from a dune near Christmas Lake, Oregon likely
contains particles of ejecta produced by the eruption of
Mount Mazama about 7700 years ago, which formed the
caldera known today as Crater Lake. The sand contains
grains of pumice (white) and basalt (gray to black). This
photo was acquired by NASA while testing the Mars Hand
Lens Imager that was used to equip the Mars Curiosity
rover. This view represents an area of sand about 14
millimeters across.
Foraminifera Sand - Torres Strait
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Garnet Sand - Cape Nome, Alaska
A heavy mineral sand containing abundant garnet from
Alma Gulch, Cape Nome, Alaska. Photograph by Siim
Sepp, used here under a Creative Commons License.
Frac Sand - Wisconsin
Frac sand is a commercial product manufactured for the
oil and gas industry. It is normally made from weathered
sandstone that has a very high quartz content and
rounded, competent grains. Most frac sands are produced
in the north-central United States where tectonic forces
have not damaged the sand grains. Frac sand is a very
durable material capable of withstanding very high
compressive forces. When oil and gas wells are drilled into
tight formations, the production zone is fractured by
pumping a high-viscosity liquid down the well. The liquid is
pumped at a pressure that exceeds the breaking point of
the rock. When the rock fractures, the liquid and billions of
suspended sand grains rush into the fractures. When the
pumps are turned off, some of the sand grains become
trapped within the fractures and prop them open. This
allows the flow of oil or gas from the rock unit to go into the
fracture and into the well. Grains in this image are about
0.50 millimeter in size. Photo copyright iStockphoto /
BanksPhotos.
Gypsum Sand - White Sands, NM
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Foraminifera sand from Warraber Island in the Torres Strait
(a body of water between Australia and New Guinea).
Foraminifera, also known as "forams," are a class of
amoeboid protists that produce a calcium carbonate test
that can become a sand-size particle after the animal dies.
Where they are abundant they can be a major contributor
to the sediment. Public domain photo by D. E. Hart.
Mars Sand
Sand grains on the surface of Mars. The ancient
environment of Mars had streams, shorelines, alluvial fans
and other sedimentary environments where sand grains
were deposited. Today, many areas on Mars are covered
with sand dunes and other aeolian features. The planet
also has lots of sandstone exposed in the walls of its
many impact craters. The largest grain at the top of this
image is about 2 millimeters in diameter. Photo by NASA's
Mars Curiosity Rover.
Black Sand Concentrates
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Some types of sand are highly unusual. This is a photo of
selenite gypsum sand from White Sands National
Monument, New Mexico. Gypsum is rarely found as a
sand because it can be dissolved by water. At White
Sands National Monument, a windy, arid climate and a
large local supply of gypsum have produced extensive
dunes of white gypsum sand. Public domain photo by
Mark A. Wilson.
Black Volcanic Sand - Punaluu Beach, HI
Black basalt sand from Punaluu Beach, Hawaii with some
shell debris. Photo by Ryan Lackey used here under a
Creative Commons License.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah
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When sediment is being panned or processed for gold, a
black sand concentrate of heavy minerals (magnetite,
hematite, rutile, ilmenite and others) often remains after
the mud and sand grains have been washed off. If you are
lucky this concentrate might contain a few grains of gold.
This photo is a view of black concentrate sand with
abundant grains of gold with a green gold pan as a
background. Public domain photo by Ted Scott.
Radiolarian Sand - Weddell Sea, Antarctica
This is the coarse fraction of a marine sediment sample
collected from the Weddell Sea. The round objects are
radiolarian tests, from amoeboid protozoa about 0.1 to 0.2
millimeters in size that produce a silica test. They can be
used for geological dating, stratigraphic correlations, and
assessments of ancient climate. Photo by Hannes Grobe
used here under a Creative Commons License.
Pismo Beach, California
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Photograph of sand grains from the Coral Pink Sand
Dunes State Park, Utah. These are quartz grains eroded
from outcrops of the nearby Navajo Sandstone with a color
that has been caused by iron staining. Public domain
photo by Mark A. Wilson.
Ooid Sand - Joulter's Cay, The Bahamas
Ooids are small rounded sediment particles that form from
the concentric precipitation of calcium carbonate around a
nucleus. The nucleus can be a sand grain, a shell
fragment, a piece of coral or other material. Ooids are
usually sand size (0.1 to 2.0 millimeters in diameter).
When they accumulate in large numbers and are lithified
into a rock, the rock is known as oolitic limestone or simply
"oolite." In rare locations ooids can be composed of iron
oxide or phosphate materials. Public domain photo by
Mark A. Wilson.
Coral Sand - Aruba
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A photograph of a sand sample collected from Pismo
Beach, California. It contains a diversity of grain types
which include: quartz, chert, volcanic rock, feldspar, and
shell fragments. This view is of an area about 3 millimeters
across. Public domain photo by Mark A. Wilson.
Lunar Spherules - Apollo 17 Landing Site
Photograph of sand-size glassy spherules collected from
the moon and brought back to Earth by Apollo 17
astronauts. Similar spherules have been found at many
locations on the moon. Their origin is uncertain; however,
researchers believe that it may be related to meteorite
impacts or volcanic activity. These grains range in
diameter from 0.15 to 0.25 millimeters. Public domain
photo by NASA.
Author: Hobart M. King, Ph.D.
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Coral sand is found on beaches in tropical environments
where offshore coral reefs provide an abundant source of
sand-size skeletal material. The local supply of terrestrial-
derived clastic material must also be small enough that it
does not dominate the abundance of coral. Although the
name "coral sand" might be used locally, some of these
sands have shell fragments and other materials in greater
abundance than coral. Public domain photo by Mark A.
Wilson.
Tar Sand - Monterey Formation, California
"Tar Sands" are sediments or sedimentary rocks
composed of sand, clay minerals, water and bitumen. The
bitumen is a very heavy oil or tar with a low melting
temperature. Bitumen typically makes up about 5% to 15%
of the deposit. When present in large enough amounts, it
can be extracted from the rock and be refined into
petroleum products. Photo by James St. John used here
under a Creative Commons License.
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