National Park Service White Sands U.S. Department of the Interior

White Sands National Monument With Sand, Size Matters

hen it comes to sand, size is all that matters. That is because sand is defined as any mineral between .065 Wmillimeters and 2 millimeters in diameter, which is about the width of a nickel. Any mineral? Now that opens up some interesting options! There are two general types of sand. One type of black sand is unique beak is strong enough to sand: mineral sand and organic formed form with heavy metals bite off pieces of the coral reef that sands. Mineral sands are formed like gold. It contains minerals contain the polyp’s parrot fish eat. by geological forces. Most sand on like hematite and magnetite. The The polyps and their coral shell are earth is quartz. Quartz begins as second type of black sand can be digested and the coral rock excreted a rock like granite, sandstone or found on beaches near volcanos and to wash on shore and form the white limestone. Weathering breaks apart is made of basalt. sandy beach. granite’s two major components: quartz and feldspar. When quartz, The mineral that has formed the So the next time you plan a vacation which is silica (SiO2) based mineral, White Sand Dunes here in Southern think carefully. Would you rather reaches the correct size the quartz New Mexico is gypsum. Gypsum build castles out of fish poop in the becomes sand. The feldspar part of sand is considered rare. It is even Bahama’s, or spend your time at quartz breaks down over the ages rarer to find gypsum sand forming White Sands National Monument to form the primary component of into the dunes. The 275 square mile and play in unique, non-organic, clay. of dunes are comprised of over 4.5 beautifully white gypsum sand. billion tons of gypsum sand. It is Quartz sand can take on many one of the many things that different colors. Take the pink sand make this a unique and special at the Pink Coral Reef dunes in place. Southern Utah. Like most other sand it is quarts but it has been Organic sand is formed from stained by rusting hematite (iron) completely different process. Most when it was part of the Navajo organic sand is found in tropical Sandstone formation. And there regions on beaches near coral is green sand, very rare but found reefs. Some of the sand is created on beaches in Hawaii and Guam. from the shells of clams and snails It gets its color from the mineral but a large portion comes from olivine which eroded from basalt fish poop. Yes - fish poop. Parrot flows from nearby volcanos. fish can “manufacture” up to 140 There are even two kinds of black lbs. of coral sand per year. Their Grains of Gypsum sand

Revised 04/04/2016