River rock calculator: how much river rock do I need?
0.62 cubic yards
16.7 cubic feet · for 10 × 10 ft at 2 in
Run your own numbers
Enter it the way you measured it: 4.5, 4 1/2,
3/8 or 10' 6".
0.62 cubic yards
16.7 cubic feet
A 10 by 10 ft area at 2 inches deep needs 0.62 cubic yards of river rock, which is 16.7 cubic feet. River rock is sold by the cubic yard in bulk, so a supplier would deliver 1 cubic yard.
A worked example
A 20 by 3 ft dry creek bed at 3 inches deep needs 0.56 cubic yards. 15 cubic feet, which is the same as 15 bags of 1 cubic foot if you buy it bagged.
How much landscape rock do I need?
The same count as river rock: length times width times depth, in cubic yards. One cubic yard covers 162 square feet at 2 inches deep, 108 at 3 inches and 81 at 4 inches, whatever the stone, because a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet spread thin. Lava rock is ordered by the cubic yard as well, and since this page returns cubic yards and never tons, the count above holds for lava rock, decorative rock and river rock alike.
What else it is called
River rock is sold as river rock, landscape rock, decorative stone, pond pebbles or Mexican beach pebbles, by the cubic yard in bulk or by the bag; lava rock is sold the same way. Two inches deep covers the ground for landscaping; a dry creek bed or a drainage trench wants more depth, so raise the depth for those.
Common sizes
| Area | 2 in deep | 3 in deep | 4 in deep | 6 in deep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 × 8 ft | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.80 | 1.19 |
| 10 × 10 ft | 0.62 | 0.93 | 1.24 | 1.86 |
| 10 × 12 ft | 0.75 | 1.12 | 1.49 | 2.23 |
| 12 × 12 ft | 0.89 | 1.34 | 1.78 | 2.67 |
| 12 × 16 ft | 1.19 | 1.78 | 2.38 | 3.56 |
| 16 × 20 ft | 1.98 | 2.97 | 3.96 | 5.93 |
| 20 × 20 ft | 2.47 | 3.71 | 4.94 | 7.41 |
Cubic yards, rounded up to two decimals. Round up again to what your supplier will deliver.
Where the numbers come from
- 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet, exact by definition. The volume of river rock to cover an area is that arithmetic and nothing else, so no figure here is ours to source.
Order by the cubic yard: it is the unit the yard loads and the one this count gives. This page does not convert to tons, because the weight of a cubic yard of river rock depends on the stone size and how wet it is, and that is a figure we would have to source for your rock.
By Javier Miralles · Last updated . How this site is made.
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