sandstone
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Eroded sandstone, Utah, USA.
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Hoodoos, east of Drumheller in Alberta Province, Canada. Sandstone rock has eroded into curious columns in the badlands of southern Alberta.
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A red flag flies, a siren sounds, and there is a sudden deafening explosion as tons of sandstone turn from rock into small chunks and individual grains in a UK blasting quarry. Controlled explosions like this are the main means by which manufacturers of high-grade decorative bricks, patio pavement slabs, and non-slate tiles are able to obtain their raw material.
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Sandstone deposits on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. The picture clearly shows layers of sand. These are deposited under desertlike conditions, and later compressed to form solid rock. Some of the layers are not horizontal, and form lines at an angle. These show former sand dunes, created by strong winds. This cutting was exposed by the building of the Manchester Ship Canal to Liverpool.
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Sandstone ridges in Colorado's Mountains of the Gods, USA. These structures, called ‘fins’, are formed in rock where certain layers are more resistant to erosion by wind and water than the surrounding material.
Sedimentary rocks formed from the consolidation of sand, with sand-sized grains (0.0625–2 mm/0.0025–0.08 in) in a matrix or cement. Their principal component is quartz. Sandstones are commonly permeable and porous, and may form freshwater aquifers. They are mainly used as building materials.
Sandstones are classified according to the matrix or cement material (whether derived from clay or silt).
Sandstone
| City in northeastern Minnesota, on the Kettle River; population (1990) 2,100. The centre of an agricultural and dairying area, it developed around sandstone quarries along the river. There is a federal prison here. |
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