Kurkar is a type of calcareous sandstone common in Israel.
The continental shelf and coastal plain of Israel are composed of kurkar, a carbonate-cemented quartz sandstone that forms a series of ridges along the shore. Kurkar is a lithification product of windblown sands that created dunes during the Pleistocene.[1]
Israel's coastal sand dunes, the habitat of many rare species of plants and animals, are made of kurkar interspersed with hamra, red sandy loam. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Israel had 285 square kilometers of kurkar and hamra formations. Due to construction, farming and the use of off-road vehicles, this has diminished to 109 square kilometers.[2]
Kurkar ridges in Israel provide nesting sites for an endangered species of bird, the European bee-eater; and nine species of wild plants native only to Israel, such as the coastal iris. [3]