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

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

One of those spills, a 2010 release of more than 1 million gallons of sludgy tar sand soil into a Michigan creek polluted a nearly 40-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 12, 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

It was in some sort of tar sand, of which we have seen a good deal on our journey.

From Young Alaskans in the Far North by Hough, Emerson