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GravelWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Gravel
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Gravel/rvl/iscomposedofunconsolidatedrock
fragmentsthathaveageneralparticlesizerangeandinclude
sizeclassesfromgranuletobouldersizedfragments.Gravelis
categorizedbytheUddenWentworthscaleintogranulargravel
(2to4mmor0.079to0.157in)andpebblegravel(4to64mm
or0.2to2.5in).Onecubicyardofgraveltypicallyweighs
about3000pounds(oracubicmetreisabout1,800kilograms).
Gravelisanimportantcommercialproduct,withanumberof
applications.Manyroadwaysaresurfacedwithgravel,
especiallyinruralareaswherethereislittletraffic.Globally,
farmoreroadsaresurfacedwithgravelthanwithconcreteor
tarmacRussiaalonehasover400,000km(250,000mi)of
gravelroads.Bothsandandsmallgravelarealsoimportantfor
themanufactureofconcrete.

Gravel(largestfragmentinthisphotois
about4cm)

Contents
1Geologicalformation
1.1Modernproduction
2Etymology
3Types
4Relationshiptoplantlife
5Seealso
6References

AgravelroadinTerreHaute,Indiana

Geologicalformation
Largegraveldepositsareacommongeologicalfeature,being
formedasaresultoftheweatheringanderosionofrocks.The
actionofriversandwavestendstopileupgravelinlarge
accumulations.Thiscansometimesresultingravelbecoming
compactedandconcretedintothesedimentaryrockcalled
Gravelbeingunloadedfromabarge
conglomerate.Wherenaturalgraveldepositsareinsufficient
forhumanpurposes,gravelisoftenproducedbyquarrying
andcrushinghardwearingrocks,suchassandstone,limestone,orbasalt.Quarrieswheregravelisextracted
areknownasgravelpits.SouthernEnglandpossessesparticularlylargeconcentrationsofthemduetothe
widespreaddepositionofgravelintheregionduringtheIceAges.

Modernproduction
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Asof2006,theUnitedStatesistheworld'sleadingproducerandconsumerofgravel.[1][2]

Etymology
ThewordgravelcomesfromtheBretonlanguage.InBreton,"grav"meanscoast.Addingthe"el"suffixin
Bretondenotesthecomponentpartsofsomethinglarger.Thus"gravel"meansthesmallstoneswhichmake
upsuchabeachonthecoast.ManydictionariesignoretheBretonlanguage,citingOldFrenchgravele[3]or
gravelle.[4]
Graveloftenhasthemeaningamixtureofdifferentsizepiecesofstonemixedwithsandandpossiblysome
clay.AmericanEnglishalsoallowssmallstoneswithoutsandmixedinalsoknownascrushedstone.[5][6]

Types
Multipletypesofgravelhavebeenrecognised,including:
Bankgravel:naturallydepositedgravelintermixedwith
sandorclayfoundinandnexttoriversandstreams.Also
knownas"Bankrun"and"Riverrun".
Benchgravel:abedofgravellocatedonthesideofa
valleyabovethepresentstreambottom,indicatingthe
formerlocationofthestreambedwhenitwasatahigher
level.
Creekrock:thisisgenerallyrounded,semipolished
stones,potentiallyofawiderangeoftypes,thatare
Gravelwithstonessizedroughlybetween5
dredgedorscoopedfromriverbedsandcreekbeds.Itis
and15mm
alsooftenusedasconcreteaggregateandlessoftenasa
pavingsurface.
Crushedstone:rockcrushedandgradedbyscreensand
thenmixedtoablendofstonesandfines.Itiswidely
usedasasurfacingforroadsanddriveways,sometimes
withtarappliedoverit.Crushedstonemaybemadefrom
granite,limestone,dolomite,andotherrocks.Also
knownas"crusherrun",DGA(DenseGradeAggregate)
QP(QuarryProcess),andshoulderstone.[7]
Finegravel:gravelconsistingofparticleswitha
diameterof2to4mm.
Laggravel:asurfaceaccumulationofcoarsegravel
DisusedgravelpitinLowerSaxony,
producedbytheremovaloffinerparticles.
Germany
Paygravel:alsoknownas"paydirt"anicknamefor
gravelwithahighconcentrationofgoldandother
preciousmetals.Themetalsarerecoveredthroughgoldpanning.
Peagravel:gravelthatconsistsofsmall,roundedstonesusedinconcretesurfaces.Alsousedfor
walkways,drivewaysandasasubstrateinhomeaquariums.
Piedmontgravel:acoarsegravelcarrieddownfromhighplacesbymountainstreamsanddeposited
onrelativelyflatground,wherethewaterrunsmoreslowly.
Plateaugravel:alayerofgravelonaplateauorotherregionabovetheheightatwhichstream
terracegravelisusuallyfound.
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Relationshiptoplantlife
Inlocaleswheregravellysoilispredominant,plantlifeisgenerallymoresparse.[8]Thisoutcomederives
fromtheinferiorabilityofgravelstoretainmoisture,aswellasthecorrespondingpaucityofmineral
nutrients,sincefinersoilsthatcontainsuchmineralsarepresentinsmalleramounts.

Seealso
Constructionaggregate
Pebble
Rock

References
1. MineralCommoditySummaries2006(http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2006/mcs2006.pdf)2009
2. IndustrialSandAndGravel(Silica):WorldProduction,ByCountry
(http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/silica/silica_t11.html)2009
3. CollinsEnglishDictionaryComplete&Unabridged11thEdition.Retrieved30August2012from
CollinsDictionary.comwebsite:http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/gravel
4. Gravel,n.,OxfordEnglishDictionarySecondEditiononCDROM(v.4.0)OxfordUniversityPress2009
5. "gravel."NoahWebster's1828AmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage.2015.
http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/gravel(8January2015)
6. "Gravel,n."def.1.Whitney,WilliamDwight.TheCenturyDictionaryanEncyclopedicLexiconoftheEnglish
Language,.Vol.3.NewYork:Century,1889.2607.Print.
7. http://www.braenstone.com/crushedstone/quarryprocessqpdga/
8. C.MichaelHogan.2010.Abioticfactor.EncyclopediaofEarth.edsEmilyMonossonandC.Cleveland.National
CouncilforScienceandtheEnvironment(http://www.eoearth.org/article/Abiotic_factor?topic=49461).
WashingtonDC

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