Sandstone

Sara Sandstone is a cheerful and happy sedimentary rock made up of many small grains of sand.

Can you see that I am made up of tiny grains?

Once, I was a beautiful sandy beach, full of sand grains and a few slightly larger pebbles. I actually ended up in a lake, carried by river water rushing in at great speed. In the lake, the sand grains and pebbles settled to the bottom, right at the water’s edge. More sand piled up on top of me, and then I was pressed together. It was a little uncomfortable, but the result turned out pretty well!

I’m not really from around here, but from Ringerike-or was it Holmestrand? I can’t quite remember, and the lake where I was formed doesn’t exist anymore either. It was located at the foot of a huge mountain range with tall, pointy peaks. Today, only small remnants of that mountain range remain, but you humans seem satisfied with it anyway. You call that mountain range by many names, I’ve heard: Hardangervidda, Rondane, Jotunheimen, and Trollheimen. But when I was young, you should have seen those mountains!

Out in the sea to the west, rocks like me are very popular. My much younger cousins out there have oil and gas trapped between their sand grains. That seems to be something you humans really like, from what I’ve understood!