Industrial Heritage Sand

Champion Stamp Mill Ruins, Freda, MI

Leo Kenney

   Remnants of industry and civilizations are often found as grains in sands. Coal chunks from power plants, paint chips from road paint, brick fragments from old chimneys, rusted steel shot from sandblasting sites, and colorful glass fragments.  Other sands contain the waste material from mines or slag from ore smelting operations. Magnification reveals these grains.

Bode River, Sachsen Anhalt, Germany
Bode River, Sachsen Anhalt, Germany

Slag from historic cobalt, lead, zinc, copper and iron mining Bode River, Sachsen Anhalt, Germany

Lac Jeanniine Mine, Quebec, Canada
Lac Jeanniine Mine, Quebec, Canada

Polished slag from closed iron mine Lac Jeannine mine, Gagnon, Quebec, Canada

Marble BeachThassos Island, Greece
Marble BeachThassos Island, Greece

Marble quarry waste Marble Beach, Thassos Island, Greece

Plage d’Albo, Corsica, France
Plage d’Albo, Corsica, France

Beach polished asbestos tailings Plage D'albo, Corsica, France

Lake Superior, Ashland, Wisconsin
Lake Superior, Ashland, Wisconsin

Coal and slag from power plant Lake Superior Ashland, Wisconsin

Acushnet River, Mattapoisett, MA
Acushnet River, Mattapoisett, MA

White, yellow paint, reflective beads from road runoff. Acushnet River, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts

Ele'ele, Kauai, Hawaii
Ele'ele, Kauai, Hawaii

Glass fragments from historic ocean dumping of city waste. Ele'ele, Kauai, Hawaii

Brandywine River, Wilmington, DE
Brandywine River, Wilmington, DE

Slag, coal, and brick remnants from historic powder mill. Brandywine River, Eagle Rollings Mills, Wilmington, Delaware

North Canal Township Park, Michigan
North Canal Township Park, Michigan

Stamp mill copper mine waste dumped in Lake Superior North Canal Township Park, Houghton, Michigan

Zejdlik Brook, Ustecky, Czech Republ
Zejdlik Brook, Ustecky, Czech Republ

Glass fragments from glass production Zejdlik Brook, Ustecky, Czech Republic

Mississippi River, Minneapolis, MN
Mississippi River, Minneapolis, MN

Sand blasting shot, charcoal, and slag dredged from River. 35W Bridge, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cole’s Creek, Houghton, Michigan
Cole’s Creek, Houghton, Michigan

Copper smelter slag on Houghton Canal Houghton, Michigan

Sloss Furnaces National Landmark, AL
Sloss Furnaces National Landmark, AL

Slag from historic pig iron furnace Sloss Furnaces Natl. Hist. Landmark, Birmingham, AL

Juodkrante Beach, Lithuania
Juodkrante Beach, Lithuania

Sand encrusted black oil blob from Black Sea drill platform.

Timna Park, Negev, Israel
Timna Park, Negev, Israel

Waste from world's oldest copper mines.

Montrose Point, Chicago, Illinois
Montrose Point, Chicago, Illinois

Industrial slag debris.