Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Concept information

Preferred term

oil sands

Type

  • Topic

Definition

  • Information Oil sands are a combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, a heavy black viscous oil. Oil sands can be mined and processed to extract the oil-rich bitumen, which is then refined into oil. The bitumen in oil sands cannot be pumped from the ground in its natural state; instead oil sand deposits are mined, usually using strip mining or open pit techniques, or the oil is extracted by underground heating with additional upgrading.

Broader concept

Synonyms

  • bituminous sands

In other languages

URI

https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/105520

Download this concept:

RDF/XML TURTLE JSON-LD Created 11/5/07, last modified 12/6/17