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Production and uses

In most cases, gravel will be a mixture of various larger rocks, the most common of which would be basalt, limestone and sandstone. The variation created will largely be dictated by the styling intentions for each project, since limestone often displays a brighter finish, whereas sandstone provides a more rustic appearance.

Gravel is a major basic raw material in construction. Sand is not usually distinguished from gravel in official statistics, but crushed stone is treated as a separate category. In 2020, sand and gravel together made up 23% of all industrial mineral production in the U.S., with a total value of about $12.6 billion. Some 960 million tons of construction sand and gravel were produced. This greatly exceeds production of industrial sand and gravel (68 million tons), which is mostly sand rather than gravel.

It is estimated that almost half of construction sand and gravel is used as aggregate for concrete. Other important uses include in road construction, as road base or in blacktop; as construction fill; and in myriad minor uses.

Gravel is widely and plentifully distributed, mostly as river deposits, river flood plains, and glacial deposits, so that environmental considerations and quality dictate whether alternatives, such as crushed stone, are more economical. Crushed stone is already displacing natural gravel in the eastern United States, and recycled gravel is also becoming increasingly important.