Friable identification and geology

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• Cementation
• Weathering

Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

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GeoMiner

Last updated

2026-03-30T15:19:41.999576+00:00

Review status

Published; not independently peer-reviewed

• USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
• Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Friable mean in geology?

Describing a rock or sediment that crumbles easily when handled, due to poor cementation, abundant porosity, or weak grain-to-grain contacts. Friable rocks include poorly cemented sandstones, weathered granites saprolite , and some chalks. Friability is an important consideration in drilling, excavation, and slope stability.

What is an example of Friable?

The St. Peter Sandstone in the upper Midwest of the United States is so friable that individual quartz grains can be rubbed off with a fingertip, making it an excellent source of high-purity silica sand for glassmaking.

Which earth-science field uses the term Friable?

Friable is used in sedimentology.

Which terms are related to Friable?

Related terms in this reference are Cementation, Induration, Weathering, Porosity.