Article
Article
Sandstone
Article By:
Suttner, Lee J. Department of Geology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Dickinson, William R. Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Suttner, Lee J. Department of Geology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.600900
A clastic sedimentary rock comprising an aggregate of sand-sized (0.06–2.0-mm) fragments of minerals, rocks, or fossils held together by a mineral cement. Sandstone forms when sand is buried under successive layers of sediment. During burial the sand is compacted, and a binding agent such as quartz, calcite, or iron oxide is precipitated from groundwater which moves through passageways between grains (Fig. 1). Sandstones grade upward in grain size into conglomerates and breccias; they grade downward in size into siltstones and shales. When the proportion of fossil fragments or carbonate grains is greater than 50%, sandstones grade into clastic limestones. See also: Breccia; Conglomerate; Limestone; Sand; Shale
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