043 Sandstone

Sandstone. Department of Civil Engineering. University of Alicante (Spain). Description: This sample is a sandstone. It is clastic sedimentary rock mainly composed by quartz grains. Grains size ranges from 0.6 to 2 mm, well-sorted. The red colour is produced by oxides of iron placed in its matrix and cement. This rock specimen is homogeneous and isotropic at the naked eyes and presents a medium porosity. Sandstones can be used as dimension stone for buildings, paving and aggregates and they have been widely utilised as building materials in historic monuments. The relatively high porosity and permeability of sandstones make them good conventional hydrocarbons reservoirs.