Quartz arenite explained

A quartz arenite or quartzarenite is a sandstone composed of greater than 90% detrital quartz.^[1] Quartz arenites are the most mature sedimentary rocks possible, and are often referred to as ultra- or super-mature, and are usually cemented by silica. They often exhibit both textural and compositional maturity. The two primary sedimentary depositional environments that produce quartz arenites are beaches/upper shoreface and aeolian processes.^[2]

Further reading

• Cook . Jennie E. . Goodwin . Laurel B. . Boutt . David F. . Systematic diagenetic changes in the grain-scale morphology and permeability of a quartz-cemented quartz arenite . AAPG Bulletin . June 2011 . 95 . 6 . 1067–1088 . 10.1306/11151010009 . 2011BAAPG..95.1067C .
• Smith . P.S. . Browne . S.V. . Heinz . T.J. . Wise . W.V. . Drilling Fluid Design to Prevent Formation Damage in High Permeability Quartz Arenite Sandstones . All Days . 6 October 1996 . SPE–36430–MS . 10.2118/36430-MS .
• Makowitz . A. . Sibley . D. . Crystal Growth Mechanisms of Quartz Overgrowths in a Cambrian Quartz Arenite . Journal of Sedimentary Research . 1 September 2001 . 71 . 5 . 809–816 . 10.1306/2DC4096A-0E47-11D7-8643000102C1865D . 2001JSedR..71..809M .
• Soegaard . Kristian . Eriksson . Kenneth A. . Origin of thick, first-cycle quartz arenite successions: Evidence from the 1.7 Ga Ortega Group, northern New Mexico . Precambrian Research . April 1989 . 43 . 1–2 . 129–141 . 10.1016/0301-9268(89)90008-9 . 1989PreR...43..129S .
• Onasch . Charles M . Microfractures and their role in deformation of a quartz arenite from the central Appalachian foreland . Journal of Structural Geology . January 1990 . 12 . 7 . 883–894 . 10.1016/0191-8141(90)90061-3 . 1990JSG....12..883O .

Notes and References

1. Blatt, Harvey and Robert J. Tracy, Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic, Freeman 2nd ed., 1996, p. 518
2. Prothero, D. R. and Schwab, F., 1996, Sedimentary Geology, pg. 96-98,