# Washed Gravel Types
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River Run Gravel
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River run gravel is gravel from a river or stream and is also called river-washed gravel. Gravel from specific parts of the river is sometimes called other names to distinguish where it is from, but river-washed gravel is from anywhere. It can be dredged from under the water or gathered from the banks.
Bench Gravel
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Bench gravel is one of the types of gravel that comes from a certain part of the river. It is collected from a stream above the current water level. The stones show where the water used to run, but the course of the stream has changed, leaving these stones exposed.
Lag Gravel and Piedmont Gravel
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These larger stones without many tiny ones are lag gravel. Lag gravel refers to the larger, coarser stones that have accumulated on the surface. These are the rocks left behind when smaller particles such as pebbles and sand are washed away. Piedmont gravel are larger stones that have washed down from mountains. The rocks accumulate in lower, flatter places where the water runs slower.
Other Geological Types
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Other geological types of gravel include bank gravel, which is mixed with sand or clay. Fine gravel has stones of 1 to 2 millimeters in size. These types of gravel are not designated by their location, but by their composition or particle size.
"Pay Dirt"
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The phrase "pay dirt," which refers to an unexpected and welcome source of money, comes from a type of gravel. Is it designated by the gravel's contents like bank gravel. Pay dirt, or pay gravel, is river run gravel that has traces of valuable metals such as gold in it. The valuable metals are sorted from the plain stones in pans, which is a familiar image from the California gold rush.
Washed Gravel for Landscaping
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These two miners are panning for gold. Washed gravel used for landscaping is usually river-washed gravel that is sorted by color. Some examples of these colors include Del rio, a combination of white, gray and tan; Lodi, a combination of white, gray and gold; and Pea, which is light brown. Others types are described as "white," "translucent white" or "black." Sorting gravel by color, rather than location, gives homeowners a more uniform color that helps them plan their yard color-scheme by coordinating the walkways with other features.
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