Sand

A sand-grade clastic-sediment. Note: the majority of sand can be classed as silicate-sand.

i. A rock fragment or detrital particle smaller than a granule and larger than a coarse silt grain, having a diameter in the range of 1/16 to 2 mm (62 to 2,000 mu m, or 0.0025 to 0.08 in, or 4 to 1 phi units, or a size between that at the lower limit of visibility of an individual particle with the unaided eye and that of the head of a small wooden match), being somewhat rounded by abrasion in the course of transport. In Great Britain, the range of 0.1 to 1 mm has been used.

See Also: coarse sand, fine sand

Ref: AGI

ii. A loose aggregate, unlithified mineral or rock particles of sand size; an unconsolidated or moderately consolidated sedimentary deposit consisting essentially of medium-grained clastics. The material is most commonly composed of quartz, and when the term sand is used without qualification, a siliceous composition is implied; but the particles may be of any mineral composition or mixture of rock or mineral fragments, such as coral sand consisting of limestone fragments. Also, a mass of such material, esp. on a beach, desert, or in a streambed.

Ref: AGI


iii. Separate grains or particles of detrital rock material, easily distinguishable by the unaided eye, but not large enough to be called pebbles; also, a loose mass of such grains, forming an incoherent arenaceous sediment. Building sand, any hard, granular rock material finer than gravel and coarser than dust. The term indicates material comminuted by natural means.

Ref: Fay

iv. Detrital material of size range from 2 to 1/16 mm in diameter. Very coarse, 1 to 2 mm; coarse, 1/2 to 1 mm; medium, 1/4 to 1/2 mm; fine, 1/4 to 1/8 mm; very fine, 1/8 to 1/16 mm.

Ref: AGI

v. Granular material, composed mainly of quartz, that will settle readily in water. In the mechanical analysis of soil, sand--according to international classification--has a size between 0.02 mm and 2.0 mm. It has no cohesion when dry or saturated but has apparent cohesion when damp.

Ref: Nelson


vi. A term used in the United States for a rock or mineral particle in the soil, having a diameter in the range of 0.05 to 2 mm; prior to 1947, the range 1 to 2 mm was called fine gravel. The diameter range recognized by the International Society of Soil Science is 0.02 to 2 mm. A textural class of soil material containing 85% or more of sand, with the percentage of silt plus 1.5 times the percentage of clay not exceeding 15; specif. such material containing 25% or more of very coarse sand, coarse sand, and medium sand, and less than 50% of fine sand or very fine sand. The term has also been used for a soil containing 90% or more of sand.

Ref: AGI