Origin of White Sands from Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh

White sands in Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh, occur as a narrow zone extending 45 km in length and 3-4 km in width between Karlapalem and Chinnaganjam. The origin and provenance of white sands are worked out based on geology and textural analysis of the white sand belt. The textural parameters and the gradational changes in the white sands support interpretation of the depositional environment as belonging to a beach system. The sub-angular to sub-rounded shape of the grains and appreciable amount of feldspars in the white sands suggest that they have undergone transportation locally and originated from a nearby source. It is established that the Gondwana sandstones exposed around Pavalur and Budavada were the source rocks for the white sands and they were deposited as a near shore bar.