Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic (made of particles cemented together) sedimentary rock. In this case the particles are sand. As can be seen in the Grain Size column on page 7 or on the Water Velocity graph on page 6, sand is defined as particles ranging in size from 0.006 to 0.2 cm. Sand particles vary not only in size but also in composition since the particles could be from any kind or rock or mineral. There are red sand beaches in Hawaii, black sand beaches in Iceland and of course the more familiar varieties are found everywhere.
Sandstone is extremely hard and is used extensively as a building material.
![]() Red sand beach - Hawaii |
Black sand beach - Iceland |
Sandstone formation - Utah |
![]() Sandstone tiles from China |
![]() Sandstone blocks |
Sandstone arch |