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Photographic gallery.  Thousands of particles under the microscope.
Sand, San Carlos, Mexico

Sand, San Carlos, Mexico

Sand grains from the beach are from various minerals, rocks, and shell fragments. Shell fragments tend to be white and well rounded, though a few other colored shell fragments are present. Most of the black particles are magnetite. The colorless glassy particles are quartz and zircon. Fragments of rhyolitic rocks are common.

Macro Photograph

Definition/Function:

Significance in the Environment:

Characteristic Features:

Associated Particles:

References:

Greenberg, Gary, A GRAIN OF SAND: NATURE'S SECRET WONDER, Voyageur Press, 2008.

Welland, Michael, SAND: THE NEVER ENDING STORY, University of California Press, 2009.

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun01/clsand.html
(Good Information on the microscopy of sand, Great site for more information on microscopy in general)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-grain-of-sand-natures-secret-wonder
(Good Information on Sand with links to more information on sand)

http://www.sciencelive.org/component/option,com_mediadb/task,play/idstr,Open-feeds_fsc_exploring_sedimentary_processes_fsc02_02_m4v/vv,-2/Itemid,97
(Brief, very informative video on what can be learned from the shape of a sand grain.)