| Uplands
The action of weather and climate on upland areas is
continually breaking down rock into smaller materials such
as sand and the effects of this weathering make the hills and
mountains of upland areas far more productive for the enthusiastic sand
collector than might initially be imagined.
The first place you might want to investigate is any
location where bare rock occurs, such as outcrops, cliffs or
man-made exposures such as old quarries. The effects of
weathering often produces small patches of mixed sand and
gravel. Scree slopes are also worth investigating with sand
usually accumulating higher up the slopes. Land slides
occur in many parts of the world and the resulting fresh
exposures might reveal bands of sand. Weathering of old
landslides often produces a type of terrain where sands and
gravels can be found in gullies and in low-lying areas. While
not perhaps the most obvious of habitats for the collection
of sand, peat bogs can be quite productive. Their soft
nature allows weathering to take place relatively easily and
beds of alluvial sand and even soft natural rock exposures
can be found. It's sometimes worth looking for areas where
livestock such as sheep have created "scrapes"
where rubbing by the animal has formed a sheltered area. Upland
areas that display evidence of glaciation sometimes
have features that can indicate that running water once
existed in the past, even although there are no streams or
rivers present today. And where there were once streams
there may still be sand. When glaciers or ice sheets
retreat vast block of ice often remain and it is the melting
of these ice blocks that created small rivers and streams.
During the course of their life these streams create valleys
but eventually dry up as their water source is exhausted.
These dry valleys are well worth investigating for exposures
where sand might be found. Other glacial features such as
drumlins, kettle holes and kaims might all be productive for
Sand Collecting. I think that perhaps the key to
finding sand in upland areas is to search for places where
the natural land surface is broken in some way, such as by
the construction of tracks, where animals have burrowed into
the soil and so on. Of course, it does no harm to dig out
those high school geology notes before you head for the
hills! |
