tar sand

American  

noun

Geology.

1. bituminous sand or sandstone from which asphalt can be obtained.

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tar sand British  

noun

1. a sandstone in which hydrocarbons have been trapped; the lighter compounds evaporate, leaving a residue of asphalt in the rock pores

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Etymology

Origin of tar sand

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

No stranger to extractive industries, he worked in Alberta’s tar sand oil fields before working until retirement as a police officer at the Makah Nation, the Quinault Indian Nation and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 19, 2023

So she headed west, to the tar sand fields of northern Alberta, one of the world’s most environmentally destructive oil operations, where workers lived in barracks-like camps and men vastly outnumbered women.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2022

In fact, there’s no more good tar sand pipelines.

From Slate • Jul. 28, 2021

Oil in Line 5 arrives from western Canada’s tar sand pits and is transported about 650 miles from northern Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario.

From The Guardian • Jun. 20, 2019

A fire from barrel staves and refuse wood built under the tank end was sufficient to heat the tar, sand and stone.

From Concrete Construction Methods and Costs by Gillette, Halbert Powers