DUCK, N.C. — On the Outer Banks, sand is a valuable resource. Millions of dollars every year go into making sure there’s enough sand in the dunes to keep infrastructure intact and slowdown shoreline ...

There’s more to beach sand than meets the eye. It has stories to tell about the land, and an epic journey to the sea. That’s because mountains end their lives as sand on beaches. Over time, mountains ...

Sand is one of the most in-demand natural materials on the planet—some 50 billion tons of sand and gravel are mined every year. It’s because the humble sand is a key ingredient in many materials, from ...

Sand is everything around us. It allows us to see. To build. To communicate. Sand is in everything from our microchips to our skyscrapers. From the moment humankind built its first mud structure, ...

Beach house buyers generally look for water access, sea views and pink sunsets. An often-overlooked aspect: the sand. In coastal areas, real-estate agents ask in granular detail for the grounds their ...