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Have you ever wondered what a birthstone is? Or which one was yours? Birthstones are minerals or gemstones which represent the month you were born in. Read this website to find out about them and their orgins.

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Birthstones | Birthstone Origins | American Gem Society - American Gem Society

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Did you know all traditional birthstones have a history? Learn about the origin of birthstones and which one correlates to your birth month from American Gem Society.

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This is a website for learning geology. It has games, videos, quizzes, facts, experiments and more!

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Geology for Kids - Games, Facts, Experiments, Activities, Projects, Science Online

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This video about how you can identify Minerals is clear and it shows which rocks is hardest to softest. Samarah

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Kids Love Rocks is a rock and mineral website for kids. This educational site is a resource for young rock and mineral collectors, teachers, and hobbyists. Learn about rocks, minerals, and everything related to the earth.

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Welcome to Kids Love Rocks, a rock and mineral website for kids. This educational site is a resource for young rock and mineral collectors, teachers, and hobbyists. Learn about rocks, minerals, and everything related to the earth.

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(Kayaan) The secret behind Stonehenge!!!

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(Kayaan) The secret behind Stonehenge!!!

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Finally I have solved the mystery of Stonehenge so click on this website to get in on the action!!!

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Prehistoric celebrations of the spring equinox at Stonehenge may have had an unexpectedly modern twist - rock music.

The latest research into the Neolithic monument on Salisbury Plain suggests that the bluestones that make up the inner circle were chosen for their acoustic properties.

The discovery offers an explanation for why Stonehenge's builders lugged rocks all the way from Pembrokeshire, 300 km away in southwestern Wales, instead of using the local sandstone, as they did with the outer circle.

Unusually, the research was led not by archaeologists, but by sound specialist Jon Wozencroft and archaeo-acoustic expert Paul Devereux from the Royal College of Art. Their "Landscape and Perception Project" aimed to teach design students to use direct sensory material, as their Stone Age ancestors would have done.

The project took them to the Welsh village of Maenclochog (pronounced "mine-clock-og"), where the local church is said to have used bluestone bells into the 18th Century.

Research within the past decade has pinpointed the origin of the Stonehenge bluestones to a quarry not far from Maenclochog. The RCA team, whose results are reported in Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Cultur e, has examined thousands of bluestones around the area over the past eight years, finding that a high percentage rang.

"It was a noteworthy soundscape," said Devereux, "With a significant percentage of the actual rocks making metallic sounds like bells, gongs, tin drums, etc, when tapped with small, handheld 'hammerstones'."

Most rocks make a disappointing thud, or at best a clink, when hit because microscopic fractures between their crystals break up the sound waves. But Bluestones are a type of dolerite, a medium-grained volcanic rock that is made from very regular crystals.

Such lithophonic rocks are not unique to Wales. They're also found at Skiddaw, a mountain in the English Lake District, Ringing Rocks Park in Pennsylvania and at sites in New Jersey and Montana.

Rock gongs that produce harsh clangs have been found at Moru Kopj in the Serengeti, Tanzania, and boulders at Kupgal Hill in India have both Neolithic rock art and what appear to be hammer marks.

The RCA team got permission from English Heritage to test the rocks at Stonehenge last summer. Expectations were low, as the stones have been eroded for millennia and are embedded in the earth.

An experiment at Rutgers University in the 1960s suggested that erosion could dull the sound of lithophones by releasing their internal tension.

However, while muted, several of the Stonehenge dolerites rang, enough to persuade the researchers that they all would have done so when they were first erected in 2500BC.

Archaeologists advising the RCA team are also intrigued. "We don't know, of course, that they moved them because they rang," Bournemouth University archaeologist Timothy Darvill told the BBC. "But ringing rocks are a prominent part of many cultures. Soundscapes of pre-history are something we're really just beginning to explore.

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The Secret Behind Stonehenge Mystery: Ringing Rocks

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Prehistoric celebrations of the spring equinox at Stonehenge may have had an unexpectedly modern twist - rock music. The latest research into the Neolithic monument on Salisbury Plain suggests that the bluestones that make up the inner circle were chosen for their acoustic properties. The discovery offers an explanation for why [...]

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I thought this was good because it was clear, easy to understand and it answered a few questions.

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Depending on how the question is worded, the answer could be quartz, feldspar or bridgmanite. It all depends on how we classify minerals and what part of the Earth we're talking about.

The most common mineral of the Earth's continents - the world we spend our time in - is quartz, the mineral SiO ₂. Nearly all the sand in sandstone, in the deserts of the world and on its riverbeds and beaches is quartz. Quartz is also the most common mineral in granite and gneiss, which make up the majority of the deep continental crust.

If you consider it as one mineral, feldspar is the most common mineral and quartz comes in second, especially when you consider the whole crust (continental plus oceanic). Feldspar is called a group of minerals only for the convenience of geologists. The seven major feldspars blend smoothly into each other, and their boundaries are arbitrary. Saying "feldspar" is like saying "chocolate-chip cookies," because the name embraces a range of recipes. In chemical terms, feldspar is XZ ₄O ₈ where X is a mixture of K, Ca and Na and Z is a mixture of Si and Al. To the average person, even the average rockhound, feldspar looks pretty much the same no matter where it falls in that range. Also, consider that the rocks of the seafloor, the oceanic crust, have almost no quartz at all but abundant amounts of feldspar. So in the Earth's crust, feldspar in the most common mineral.

The thin, rocky crust makes up only a small portion of the Earth - it occupies just 1% of its total volume and 0.5% of its total mass. Underneath the crust, a layer of hot, solid rock known as the mantle makes up about 84% of the total volume and 67% of the total mass of the planet. The Earth's core, which accounts for 16% of its total volume and 32.5% of its total mass, is liquid iron and nickel, which are elements and not minerals.

Drilling past the crust presents major difficulties, so geologists study how seismic waves behave in the mantle in order to understand its composition. These seismic studies show that the mantle itself is divided into several layers, the largest of which is the lower mantle.

The lower mantle ranges from 660-2700 km in depth and accounts for roughly half of the planet's volume. This layer is made up mostly of the mineral bridgmanite, a very dense magnesium iron silicate with the formula (Mg,Fe)SiO ₃.

Bridgmanite makes up around 38% of the planet's total volume, meaning it is by far the most abundant mineral on Earth. Although scientists have known about its existence for years, they had not been able to observe, analyze or name the mineral because it does not (and can not) rise from the depths of the lower mantle to the surface of the Earth. It was referred to as perovskite, as the International Mineralogical Association does not allow formal names for minerals unless they have been examined in person.

That all changed in 2014, when mineralogists found bridgmanite in a meteorite that crashed into Australia in 1879. During impact, the meteorite was subjected to temperatures in excess of 3600°F and pressures around 24 gigapascal, similar to what is found in the lower mantle. Bridgmanite was named in honor of Percy Bridgman, who won a Nobel Prize in 1946 for his research of materials at very high pressures.

If asked this question on a quiz or test, make sure to look carefully at the wording before answering (and be prepared to argue). If you see the words "continent" or "continental crust" in the question, then your answer is most likely quartz. If you just see the word "crust," then the answer is probably feldspar. If the question does not mention the crust at all, go with bridgmanite.

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What Is the Most Common Mineral on Earth?

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Depending on how the question is worded, the answer could be quartz, feldspar or bridgmanite. It all depends on how we classify minerals and what part of the Earth we're talking about. The most common mineral of the Earth's continents - the world we spend our time in - is quartz, the mineral SiO 2.

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We usually admire rocky formations called "mountains". But what about looking at rocks and minerals themselves? Of course, it would be prudent to distinguish between the two. Minerals are naturally-occurring formations of inorganic materials that are solid and can be represented by a chemical formula. Which means than a quartz is a lump of silicate dioxide that you can whack someone with (but you really shouldn't). Rocks, on the other hand, can have various compounds in them, thus they can't be represented by a chemical formula, and are also quite handy for throwing at people or windows (again, we advise you not to).

Both rocks and minerals can have some amazing visual qualities. From shapes that look almost unnatural to beautiful vibrant colors, to what appears to be frozen spatial phenomena: for example, amethyst is type of quartz that gets it reddish color from iron impurities, irradiation and so forth. Rocks and minerals can get really spectacular even without human intervention - extraction notwithstanding.

So take a peek at some of prettiest rocks and minerals as voted by kind users on Bored Panda.

More info: boredpanda.com

Sunset Fire Opal

Image credits: Jeff Schultz

Luz Opal With Galaxy Inside

Image credits: imgur.com

Bismuth

Image credits: bismuthcrystal.com

Ocean Inside An Opal

Image credits: Inna Gem

Worlds Biggest Amethyst Geode - The 'Empress Of Uruguay'

Image credits: iaccidentallyallthephysics.tumblr.com

Lightning Ridge Blue Opal

Image credits: imgur.com

Opal Fossil

Image credits: unknown

Flourite

Image credits: claudialala.com

Rose Quartz Geode

Image credits: unknown

Burmese Tourmaline

Image credits: Jeffrey Hunt

Scolecite

Image credits: imgur.com

Chrysocolla In Malachite

Image credits: old.irocks.com

Titanium Quartz

Image credits: imgur.com

Azurite

Image credits: crystalvaults.com

Watermelon Tourmaline

Image credits: Igor Schwartzmann

Rhodochrosite

Image credits: imgur.com

Bismuth

Image credits: morelikethis

Realgar on Calcite

Image credits: becoming-thesnowqueen.tumblr.com

Uvarovite

Image credits: R. Tanaka

Fluorite/quartz/pyrite Combination

Image credits: minfind.com

Crocoite

Image credits: reddit.com

Cobaltocalcite

Image credits: smore.com

Tourmaline On Quartz With Lepidolite And Cleavelandite

Image credits: imgur.com

Rodochrosite

Image credits: imgur.com

Crocoite

Image credits: imgur.com

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25 Magnificent Minerals And Stones With Hidden Galaxies, Skies And Oceans Inside

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We usually admire rocky formations called "mountains". But what about looking at rocks and minerals themselves? Of course, it would be prudent to distinguish between the two. Minerals are naturally-occurring formations of inorganic materials that are solid and can be represented by a chemical formula.

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This website is good for all diamond questions but the website is probably not the best

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Your Guide to Diamonds, Rocks, and Minerals

Studying rocks and minerals can help you learn about Earth. A rock is made from two or more minerals. A mineral might contain just one chemical element or more than one element. Scientists guess that the Earth contains about 4,000 different minerals. The diamond is the Earth's hardest mineral. A diamond is so hard that it's possible to cut a diamond with another diamond.
Rocks
Rocks divide into three different groups according to how they are formed. The three different rock types are sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Sedimentary rocks often develop in water as layers of sediment build up over time. Sedimentary rocks include sandstone, flint, and chalk. Igneous rocks are created when magma cools and then hardens. Igneous rocks include basalt, granite, obsidian, and pumice. Metamorphic rocks have this special name because they change from pressure and heat. Types of metamorphic rocks include marble, granulite, quartzite, and slate.

Rocks can give people excellent clues about the history of Earth. Rocks are records that can tell scientists important information about what Earth looked like and what the atmosphere was like long ago. When scientists understand Earth's history, they can better understand why and how the planet is the way it is today. Scientists can also try to predict what might happen to Earth in the future. Rocks form under certain conditions, so when scientists find specific rocks in certain places, they can guess about environmental conditions that had to be present for the rocks to be where they were found.
Minerals
Geologists have a special definition of minerals. To be called a mineral, a substance has to fit five different scientific rules. Minerals occur naturally, and they are inorganic. Naturally occurring objects are things that people have not made. Inorganic objects are things that organisms have not made. For example, wood is natural, but it comes from trees. This means that wood is not a mineral. Minerals have a definite chemical composition, and they are a solid substance. A definite chemical composition means that all occurrences of a mineral have a content that will only change within a limited range. Solid substances are not a gas or a liquid when at typical temperatures and pressure. Finally, minerals have an ordered internal structure. This means that the atoms contained in a mineral are arranged in a specific and repeating pattern. The things you see and touch around you are made up of a combination of minerals. People use a huge number of minerals in their everyday lives. Scientists estimate that people in the United States use about three trillion tons of minerals every year. This is about 10 tons of minerals every year for every American citizen.
Diamonds
Diamonds, the strongest minerals on Earth, are located deep under the Earth's surface. Diamond formation needs four specific things to happen. Carbon has to be present, and then pressure and heat have to happen to the carbon over time. The heat has to be at least 752 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pressure has to be at least 434,113 pounds per square inch. The best depth for diamond creation is about 100 miles beneath the Earth's mantle. At some point, volcanic eruptions moved diamonds at these extreme depths up so they were easier to find. If you were to find a diamond in the dirt, it would not look bright and shiny. It's only after cutting and polishing that diamonds look brilliant and sparkling.

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A Guide to Diamonds, Rocks & Minerals * Casoro Jewelry Safes

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Studying rocks and minerals can help you learn about Earth. A rock is made from two or more minerals. A mineral might contain just one chemical element or more than one element. Scientists guess that the Earth contains about 4,000 different minerals. The diamond is the Earth's hardest mineral.

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Limestone is a common sedimentary rock composed primarily of the calcium carbonate mineral, calcite (CaCO ₃). Limestone constitutes approximately 10 percent of the sedimentary rocks exposed on the earth's surface.

Limestone is formed either by direct crystallization from water (usually seawater), or by the accumulation of sea animal shells and shell fragments. In the direct crystallization case calcium ions in the seawater combine with atmospheric or dissolved carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate, which being insoluble, precipitates out. Over time, layers of the calcium carbonate form, and with sufficient time and pressure from overlying materials, are transformed to solid rock. The chemical composition of seawater and its minerals contaminants will be recorded in the limestone impurities. Limestone frequently also contains the minerals dolomite or calcium magnesium carbonate (CaMg(CO ₃) ₂, and a second crystalline form of calcium carbonate, aragonite.

In the seas that covered much of the earth in earlier geological times lived many clams and other shelled forms of animal life. When the animals died, their shells, which are composed of calcium carbonate, fell to the bottom. Thick layers, which can be a mile or 2 kilometers deep, gradually were changed into rock. If the shells were only compressed, with little crystallization occurring, soft chalk results. The White Cliffs of Dover in England are made of this type of chalk. With more time and pressure, a coarsely crystallized rock can form, which is limestone. In limestone, most traces of the animal shells have disappeared.

Pure calcite, dolomite, and aragonite which are in the limestones, are clear or white. However, with impurities, they can take on a variety of colors, commonly white, tan or gray. Limestone can also have gone through metamorphosis, with high pressure, heat and time creating marble. This process tends to intensify the color of the stone as well as changing the nature of some of the impurities. Metamorphosis creates the beautiful marbles seen in architectural applications.

Uses For Limestone
Limestone and marble are important building materials in most parts of the world. They are used as cut dimension stone (blocks and slabs) for building. In the form of coarsely crushed stone or aggregate limestone is used for general building purposes, roadbeds and as a component in concrete. When heated, the calcium carbonate in limestone decomposes to lime, or calcium oxide, which also has many industrial applications, including the manufacture of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). Click on the links below to learn more about lime and precipitated calcium carbonate.

Either limestone or marble may be used as the basis for crushed or ground calcium carbonate. Ground calcium carbonate, commonly referred to as GCC, is very widely used as an industrial mineral. Three primary attributes: particle size, color and chemical purity define the quality of the GCC, and define the suitability of use for any given application.

Ground limestones are available in a broad range of sizes. When specifying the size of a ground calcium carbonate, either the top size (the size of the largest particles) or the median particle size (essentially the average) can be used. Commercially, top size is generally specified for coarser industrial minerals which may be as big as beach sand, which is 10 mesh or 2 millimeters or approximately 0.1 inch in size, or as fine as flour; which is 200 mesh, or 75 microns. Finely ground calcium carbonates can range down in particle size to just a few microns, 1 to 3, with the top size controlled for high performance applications to as fine as 5 to 10 microns.

Limestone color can range from brilliant white to light gray and chemical purity can range from only 80-90% calcium carbonate to well over 99.9% purity.

Calcium carbonate is not a particularly hard mineral, with pure calcite falling at about 3 on the Mohs scale of 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond). Silica impurities in the limestone can raise the hardness of some ground calcium carbonates to a Mohs value of 4. Calcium carbonate is subject to attack by acidic environments, which has led to the damage of limestone buildings and monuments by acid rain. For industrial uses, the effect of an acid can be somewhat reduced by treating the ground limestone powder with fatty acids to put a non-polar, organic material on the surface. Few industrial minerals can match GCC for its combination of properties and cost.

Specialty Minerals Limestone Products
Specialty Minerals Inc. (SMI) manufactures crushed and ground limestone products at two of the Performance Minerals plants. At Adams, MA and Lucerne Valley, CA, high brightness limestone from adjacent SMI mines are ground into products which range in size from ½" (1.7 cm) white decorative landscaping stones to fine, 2 micron, powders. The Vicron ®, Marblewhite ®, Marblemix ®, Marble-Pfill ®, ATF™, and AFG™ GCC products are used in the whole variety of applications for limestones - building products, paints, plastics, agriculture, glass, among others. The Adams plant also produces Food Grade Vicron ® GCCs for food and chewing gum.​

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Limestone is a common sedimentary rock composed primarily of the calcium carbonate mineral, calcite (CaCO 3). Limestone constitutes approximately 10 percent of the sedimentary rocks exposed on the earth's surface. Limestone is formed either by direct crystallization from water (usually seawater), or by the accumulation of sea animal shells and shell fragments.

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Let me preface this post by saying that the title isn't entirely accurate and it's possible (depending on how you look at it) that it's not at all accurate. Nonetheless, I've been battling this issue with a co-worker for some time now. Here's the back story.

A long time ago, I watched a special on the Discovery channel or Science channel about rock quarries and in it, they talked about how they mine for the various types of useful rocks and in turn, what they use them for. After the show finished tell us about all of its exciting "rock facts," it began to run the credits.

The producers of the show decided to use this time to make one small statement: "Rocks are even used in our everyday lives; some uses more common, others not so common such as rocks are used for the white powder on chewing gum." (I'm sure this was not the statement verbatim, but the idea is on par.)

Anyway, somehow I was able to use this information at work and unbeknownst to me at the time, started a heated debate that continues to this day. At any rate, I never said there were rocks in chewing gum. In fact, I never said rocks were used as an ingredient!

The naysayers in this debate simply say that the white powder on gum is nothing more than sugar itself. Now, to their credit, Wrigley does state on their own website that this is the case for their products. In fact, someone who appears to be speaking on Wrigley's behalf answered the question on Answers.com in regards to the white powder. They had this to say:

"All Wrigley gums are brushed with a rolling powder before they are encased in the foil wrappers that keep them fresh. On our sugared brands a granulated sugar, which has the appearance of confectionary sugar, is used. On our sugarfree brands a dusting of sugar substitute is used. The amount of the powder used may vary and depends on the handling of the operator. In general, our Extra® brand gums have more rolling powder brushed on them than other brands."

Although this is true, it doesn't mean that I (or for this matter, the tv show that told me this) is wrong! So, I set out to find some ground for my case and sure enough, I got a viable source. The website is SMI and their business is producing minerals for various uses and if you go to their website, you'll see that they have outlined a very specific use of a mineral known as ground calcium carbonate for the powder on chewing gum, specifically Food Grade Vicron® GCCs. They also make reference to talc being used as well.

The purpose of these elements is to soak up any oils that would make the gum stick to the wrapper. A perfect summary of this fact is outlined directly on that link (text is no longer on this page):

"Talc is also used during gum base manufacture as a detackifier, to keep the gum base crumbs from sticking to each other. Both talc and calcium carbonate are used for dusting the sticks of gum - that is, the white powder on the product surface - to absorb any oils or other components that may migrate to the surface of the gum stick, which would make the gum adhere to the paper wrapper."

Finally, I am putting this issue to rest and forever more, if anyone tells me again that I am wrong, I will forward them to this post. Thanks for listening (I guess, reading) my rant.

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Let me preface this post by saying that the title isn't entirely accurate and it's possible (depending on how you look at it) that it's not at all accurate. Nonetheless, I've been battling this issue with a co-worker for some time now. Here's the back story.

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This shows the worlds rarest rocks.

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This video teaches you how rocks are formed and how they change due to conditions

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This video teaches you how rocks are formed and how they change due to conditions

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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3 Types of Rocks and the Rock Cycle: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic - FreeSchool

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This video explains how volcanoes erupt.
Samarah

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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Rohan
This video tells you about Erosion

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This video shows rare and unique rocks that have been found on earth.

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Test your skills in this game
Wal
ter

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Indentify Rock Types Game This game was designed to help students learn about rock types.

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i think this is video is very good video because it helps your understanding and gives you a-lot
of helpful information

- Oli

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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I think that this video is good because it teaches you about types of rocks.   Astrid

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What’s lava got to do with it? Did you know there are types of semi-liquid which can form rocks? Tim and Moby talk igneous and marble, erosion and minerals.

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This video is good because it gives you answers for lots of questions.
Phoenix

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This video is good because it tells you what Igneous means, what types of  Igneous rocks there are, what they are used for and were they come from.
Rhea

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How Diamonds are cut and Weighed.

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This video is good if you observe everything in it

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Crystals aren’t only rubies, emeralds, and diamonds! Tim and Moby introduce you to the mineral world, including some you probably keep in your kitchen cabinet.

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This video explains how earthquakes and volcanos erupt.

Samarah

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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17 spectacular rock formations .                 jack

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17 spectacular rock formations .                 jack

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i like this video because it shows and explains about spectacular rock formations around the world.

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3 Types of Rocks | #aumsum #kids #science #education #children

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Sand is formed from wearing down rocks.

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Sand is a sedimentary material; loose grains of worn out and disintegrated rocks. Sand is of fine granules with grains ranging between 0.06 and 2.0 mm in diameter. Sand is a naturally occurring fragmented material comprised of tiny particles of decomposed rocks, shells, or corals. So how does sand come about? As mentioned before, nature takes it course to form sand, but there are also unnatural ways to form sand.

Naturally Occurring Sand

The most common natural process of sand formation is called weathering. Majority of sand comes from chemical and mechanical breakdown (weathering) of bedrocks. Such process can take hundreds or even millions of years depending on other mechanical processes such as temperature changes, wedging by plant roots or salt crystals, and ice gouging underneath glaciers. A waterfall continuously pounding on a huge rock would cause little bits and pieces of the rock to be detached.

Formation and composition of sand is depends largely on the source material. Sand that is found on the beach are mostly composed of quartz which is the most common material found in sand, or possibly some amounts of feldspar which is more prone to chemical breakdown, and other commonly occurring materials in the general beach vicinity coming from igneous rocks nearby. On the other hand, sand around volcanic islands is commonly composed of volcanic rock decomposed fragments and other minerals coming from volcanic rocks such as volcanic glass. In areas where there isn't much of sedimentary material from mountains or volcanoes, sand is commonly composed of organic material that have decayed and fragmented such as corals, shells, and skeletons of little planktonic organisms.

Quartz has a high resistance to chemical and mechanical weathering and it is also one of the most commonly naturally occurring mineral on Earth. Plenty of types of sand consist largely of quartz. Other types of sand consist of feldspar, fragments of igneous, and fragments of metamorphic rocks. Hydrodynamic or chemical precipitation processes can produce sand that consists mostly of glauconite, calcite, or dense and dark-colored minerals like magnetite and ilmenite.

Industrially Manufactured Sand

The process of manufacturing sand also involves natural decomposition of rocks. Other processes that follow are extraction, sorting, washing, and sometimes crushing is also involved. Sand manufacturing plants are situated near the source of the materials, often near riverbeds.

Solid rocks are broken down into smaller pieces by natural means and are transported to different sites by means of wind and the flow of water. Extraction follows as men scoop up sand from riverbanks. Some of the sand is taken from underneath the water with the use of a machine called a dredge which has a rotating cutter to loosen the sand. The next process is called sorting where the sand is mixed with water and filtered through a screen to separate big rocks, lumps of clay, and other materials. The sand may be put through different sizes of screen filters to separate bigger grains of sand from the finer grains. Washing then follows to take out any other material and the sand will be filtered through a screen once more to produce the grain of sand. Some of the sand is crushed to get a finer grain or a specific size or shape of sand that is not readily available in nature.

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Sand is a sedimentary material; loose grains of worn out and disintegrated rocks. Sand is of fine granules with grains ranging between 0.06 and 2.0 mm in diameter. Sand is a naturally occurring fragmented material comprised of tiny particles of decomposed rocks, shells, or corals. So how does sand come about?