UAE, United Arab Emirates
Sand Origin
Close to Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
Random Sand Fact
Even desert nations with vast areas of sand import sand. And UAE lots of it.
Why? Local wind-formed sand is too smooth to be used for construction. Winds make grains bounce round off corners of sand grains to shape desert grains round.
In the same way that it’s harder to stack marbles than blocks, round sand grains don’t lock together as angular sand does.
Desert sand is unfit for almost all types of construction, clarifying the big imports. Most buildings, man-made islands, and horse race tracks in UAE are built with imported sand.
Do you recognize the saying “Bringing sand to the beach”? How about bringing sand to a sandy desert? It’s not as absurd as it first appears!
