Oil sands or tar sands?
Tar sands was coined in the early years of the industry and was used to describe the oil sands deposits found in northern Alberta. It is also a term associated with distilled or man-made products such as road-paving mixtures.
Oil sands is now more commonly used, and is a more accurate term, since bitumen, a heavy petroleum product, is mixed with the sand, and oil is what is derived from the bitumen.
Canada's Oil Sands: Come See for Yourself