Gravel
noun, の adjective
If sand makes a lot of profit, it swells up and becomes gravel. They're like the fat cats of the beach.
You learned the reading for 利 with the kanji, but the reading for 砂 is irregular, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
You're walking through that big fat gravel, when a pile of it starts moving, and something suddenly leaps out at you. It's a... jaguar (じゃ)! Run!
アスファルトは、砂利を石油で固めたものなんですよ。
Asphalt is gravel that's hardened with petroleum.
ウラン鉱山はこの砂利道の先にあります。
The uranium mine is at the end of this gravel road.
折角野菜を育てられるのに、庭に砂利を敷いてしまうのはもったいないと思うんだけど。
I think it would be a shame to spread gravel over the garden when we could grow vegetables.