sand - dune sand - orange-pink dune sand with frosted iron-oxide coated grains derived from the Navajo sandstone - set of 5 tubes

This interesting sand was derived from the Navajo Sandstone which makes up the cross-bedded cliffs at Zion National Park in Utah and which is widely distributed in southern Utah outside of the park. The sand grains are entirely frosted quartz. Transported from the Appalachians by a continent-spanning river system, the Navajo was deposited during the Jurassic as sand in a vast coastal and inland dune field, which subsequently became lithified into a sandstone. Near Hurricane, Utah this sandstone is 2,400 feet thick. The frosted quartz grains are characteristic of the Navajo Sandstone - the quartz grains essentially sandblasted each other as they were transported by the wind and deposited in dunes.  Near Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes are entirely composed of sand derived from the Navajo Sandstone. It's an interesting example of recycling, where a Jurassic dune field becomes lithified to become the Navajo Sandstone, then roughly 160 million years later weathers to