Sandstone | Sedimentary, Clastic, Quartz

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<div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sandstone/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/sandstone">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sandstone/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/94174-050-D0F38AF4/Sandstone-formations-Arizona.jpg" data-href="/media/1/522190/97641" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" 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It is the second most common <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sedimentary-rock" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">sedimentary rock</a> after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/shale" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">shale</a>, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituting" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituting" data-type="MW">constituting</a> about 10 to 20 percent of the sedimentary rocks in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Earth’s</a> crust. Because of their abundance, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="diverse" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diverse" data-type="MW">diverse</a> textures, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mineralogy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">mineralogy</a>, sandstones are important indicators of erosional and depositional processes.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Texturally, sandstones consist of two components: (1) a framework composed of sand-sized grains and (2) interstitial volume between grains, which may be empty, especially in modern sandstones, or, in the case of most ancient sandstones, filled with either a chemical cement of silica or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/calcium-carbonate" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">calcium carbonate</a> or a fine-grained <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/matrix-geology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">matrix</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The principal <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mineral-chemical-compound" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">mineral</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituents" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituents" data-type="MW">constituents</a> of the framework are <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/quartz" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">quartz</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/feldspar" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">feldspar</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/rock-geology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">rock</a> fragments. The relative proportions of these have genetic <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="implications" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implications" data-type="MW">implications</a>, first for the source area and second for the rate of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sedimentation-geology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">deposition</a>.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-read-more-module" href="/science/sedimentary-rock/Sandstones#ref619013" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/2705-004-314DA145/composition-sedimentary-rocks.jpg" alt="chemistry of sedimentary rocks" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-navy-dark">More From Britannica</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">sedimentary rock: Sandstones</div> </div> </a><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="154442" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/66/148366-050-84B4BBBB/Sandstone-cliffs-Freshwater-Alum-Bay-Isle-of.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/522190/154442"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/66/148366-050-84B4BBBB/Sandstone-cliffs-Freshwater-Alum-Bay-Isle-of.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/66/148366-050-84B4BBBB/Sandstone-cliffs-Freshwater-Alum-Bay-Isle-of.jpg?w=300" alt="Alum Bay" data-width="1600" data-height="1200" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/66/148366-050-84B4BBBB/Sandstone-cliffs-Freshwater-Alum-Bay-Isle-of.jpg" data-href="/media/1/522190/154442">Alum Bay</a><span>Sandstone cliffs at Alum Bay, near Freshwater, Isle of Wight, England.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Texture and mineralogical properties are used for sandstone classification, though considerable debate exists as to which properties to emphasize. The two major classes of sandstone are <span id="ref904169"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/arenite" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">arenite</a> and <span id="ref904170"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/wacke" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">wacke</a>. The boundary between the two is based on the amount of matrix present in the sample. Arenites contain less matrix than wacke. Though the exact boundary is debated, often 5 percent matrix is the accepted value, whereas some experts place this boundary at 15 percent. Another common <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="classification" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/classification" data-type="EB">classification</a> uses the name <span id="ref904171"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/arkose" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">arkose</a> for rocks rich in feldspar. These names are further modified by the components present in the rock. Lithic arenite, feldspathic wacke, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/quartz-arenite" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">quartz arenite</a> are common examples.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Richard-Pallardy/6744">Richard Pallardy</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":522190,"pageLength":248,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Sandstone | Sedimentary, Clastic, Quartz | Britannica