How long does it take sandstone to turn into sand?

Time is usually difficult to define in the rock record. How long did it take to deposit the sandstone exposed in the cliffs of Turkey Run or the limestone exposed in the quarries around Bloomington and Bedford? read more

Detailed studies of sandstone give insight into its provenance—the kind of countryside that produced the sand. The degree to which the grains are rounded is a sign of how far they were transported. A frosted surface is generally a sign that sand was transported by wind—that, in turn, means a sandy desert setting. read more

In the global Flood of Noah’s day (about 4,500 years ago), there would have been lots of microbes “floating around” and buried in sand in low-oxygen conditions, just right for them to release cementing agents into the surrounding sediment. read more

When the transition from sandstone to quartzite occurs, the quartz grains in the sandstone recrystallize and form sedimentary structures of quartz crystals. Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock that is usually gray or white, but may take other light colors depending on the impurities present in the sandstone. read more