# Sandplain

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandplain
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandplain.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandplain
> Source revision: 1341321179
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Geographical feature}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2026}}
A '''sandplain''' is an area where the soil is sand deposited from elsewhere by processes such as wind or ocean, rather than direct weathering of [bedrock](/source/bedrock).<ref>{{cite web
 | title        = sand plain
 | url          = https://landform.en-academic.com/856/sand_plain
 | website      = Glossary of landform and geologic terms
 | publisher    = en‑academic.com
 | accessdate   = 1 March 2026
 | quote        = A sand‑covered plain, which may originate by deflation of sand dunes, and whose lower limit of erosion is governed by the water table. Also spelled sandplain.
}}</ref>

Sandplains are quite flat. There may be [dune](/source/dune) systems, and given time and the right conditions these may form [eolianite](/source/eolianite) ridges, but other than that there is little to give a sandplain any [topographical](/source/topography) character.

Inland sandplains are often extremely infertile, because the sand is often low in nutrients when deposited, plus the good drainage means any nutrients are rapidly [leached](/source/leaching_(pedology)) away.

Coastal sandplains in [intertidal zone](/source/intertidal_zone)s like those seen in the [Wadden Sea](/source/Wadden_Sea) in western Europe for example, are wet with nutrients added continuously, so they can often support a very rich and important fauna of birds, worms, [mussel](/source/mussel)s, etc..

In North America, sandplains are often vegetated by [pine barrens](/source/pine_barrens). In Western Australia, [kwongan](/source/kwongan) is the dominant vegetation.

==See also==
*[Outwash plain](/source/Outwash_plain)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100420101357/http://www.agc.army.mil/research/products/desert_guide/lsmsheet/lsplain.htm Sand Plains/Sand Sheets] (U.S. Army Geospatial Center)

Category:Geological processes
Category:Geography terminology

{{geological-process-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sandplain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandplain) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandplain?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.