Hopeman Sandstone was sourced from several clusters of quarries near the towns of Hopeman and Elgin, in Nairnshire. The stone consisted originally of sand deposited by rivers and as wind-blown sand dunes in a desert environment during the later part of the Permian Period and early part of the Triassic Period (c. 260 million years ago), when Scotland was at roughly the same latitude as the southern half of today's Sahara desert. Historically, Hopeman Sandstone was probably used locally to form masonry. Today, Hopeman Sandstone is extracted for building stone at one quarry, and is used nationally and internationally for various purposes including cladding and paving.