I initially passed over this Discover gallery but decided to take a look once @mocost linked to it.
Who would have thought that sand had such diversity and beauty? Evidently Gary Greenberg did when he compiled these microscopic photographs of sand for his book, A Grain of Sand.
Composed of the remnants of volcanic explosions, eroded mountains, dead organisms, and even degraded man-made structures, sand can reveal the history—both biological and geologic—of a local environment. And examined closely enough, as the scientist and artist Gary Greenberg has, sand can reveal spectacular colors, shapes, and textures.