Sand is everywhere and a fascinating medium, wide-spread in our everyday’s live, much more than you would imagine.
The natural form of sand can be found in geologic formations such as mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans and of course dunes.
Our live would look completely different without sand. We need it for streets, concrete, glass, computers, porcelain, etc.
Here you find sand:
On mountains
In geologic cycles mountains are piled up, which depending on the durability of the minerals sooner or later will be crushed down to the size of sand by the forces of weather. There is one theory saying that sand is responsible for the geology of earth as it is. It floats from mountains down to the sea, from there to the deep sea, where it is morphed to future mountain ranges.
In rivers
water conveys sand from mountains to the sea. Water works like a shock protector. That’s why water can hardly crush a stone to sand. Rivers rather transport and assort the sediments.
On beaches
At the beach you find mostly sands which the rivers have deposited there. A smaller part are crushed down corals, clamshells and we find forams, sand grains produced by micro organisms.
On dunes
Wind as the second important vessel of sands, is moving millions of tons of sands across the face of our earth and can accumulate it to dunes and sand deserts.
In your shoes
Sand is fine and finds a way through any tiny crack and gap, even there where it is disturbing. According to science terms sand measures 0.006 – 2 mm. Smaller particles are called silt, coarser grain is called gravel. see Sandology /category/info/sandologie/
In products
Glass, ceramics, casts, filters, concrete, streets and many more human made things would be impossible without the existence of sands. The world would look different without sand.
… and of course in sand art
Sandpictures are domesticated sand dunes with the mission to create calm, relaxation and peace.
