Sandstone facts for kids

Siccar Point shows layers of sandstone over older rocks.

Red sandstone is a beautiful rock.

Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock. It forms when tiny bits of sand get pressed and glued together. Sand itself is made of small pieces of rocks and minerals. The most common minerals found in sandstone are quartz and feldspar. These are very common in the Earth's crust.

Sandstone that can stand up to weathering (like rain and wind) is used for building in many places. It can be a very strong rock. For example, tough paving slabs for sidewalks are often made from hard sandstone.

If sandstone gets heated and squeezed under a lot of pressure, it can change into a harder rock called quartzite. This often happens deep inside the Earth, like under a large mountain range.

How Sandstone Forms

Sandstone is made in two main steps. First, layers of sand build up. This sand can be carried by water, like in rivers or oceans. It can also be blown by wind, like in a desert.

After the sand layers pile up, the weight of more sand on top presses them down. This pressure compacts the sand particles. Then, natural "glue" fills the spaces between the sand grains. This glue can be calcite (which is calcium carbonate), quartz (which is silica), or clay. Sometimes, Iron oxide is present, which gives sandstone its reddish color.

Types of Sandstone

There are different kinds of sandstone, often named for their age or where they formed.

Old Red Sandstone

The Old Red Sandstone formed a very long time ago, during the Devonian period. It was laid down in watery places, like ancient seas or large lakes. This type of sandstone often has a dark, dirty red color.

New Red Sandstone

The New Red Sandstone is younger, forming during the Permian period. This rock was created in dry, desert conditions. It usually has a brighter orange-red color.

Images for kids

• 

  Paradise Quarry, Sydney, Australia

• 

  Grus sand and the granitoid from which it is derived

• 

  Photomicrograph of a volcanic sand grain; upper picture is plane-polarised light, bottom picture is cross-polarised light, scale box at left-centre is 0.25 millimeter. This type of grain would be a main component of a lithic sandstone.

• 

  Cross-bedding and scour in sandstone of the Logan Formation (Lower Carboniferous) of Jackson County, Ohio

• 

  The Main Quadrangle of the University of Sydney, a so-called sandstone university

• 

  Sandstone statue Maria Immaculata by Fidelis Sporer, around 1770, in Freiburg, Germany

• 

  17,000 yr old sandstone oil lamp discovered at the caves of Lascaux, France

• 

  Alcove in the Navajo Sandstone

• 

  Kokh-type tombs cut into the multicoloured sandstone of Petra

• 

  Sand grains of quartz with hematite coating providing an orange colour

See also

In Spanish: Arenisca para niños