Sedimentary Rocks
What is a sedimentary rock?
Sedimentary rocks are products of
mechanical and chemical weathering
They account for about 5 percent (by
volume) of Earth’s outer 10 miles
Contain evidence of past environments
• Provide information about sediment
transport
• Often contain fossils
What is a sedimentary rock?
Sedimentary rocks are important for
economic considerations because they
may contain
• Coal
• Petroleum and natural gas
• Sources of iron, aluminum, and
manganese
Turning sediment into rock
Many changes occur to sediment after it
is deposited
Diagenesis – all of the chemical, physical,
and biological changes that take place
after sediments are deposited
• Occurs within the upper few kilometers of
Earth’s crust
Origin of Sedimentary rocks
Turning sediment into rock
Diagenesis
• Includes
– Recrystallization – development of more
stable minerals from less stable ones
– Lithification – unconsolidated sediments are
transformed into solid sedimentary rock by
compaction and cementation
– Natural cements include calcite, silica, and
iron oxide
Types of sedimentary rocks
Sediment originates from mechanical
and/or chemical weathering
Rock types are based on the source of the
material
• Detrital rocks – transported sediment as
solid particles
• Chemical rocks – sediment that was once
in solution
Detrital sedimentary rocks
The chief constituents of detrital rocks
include
• Clay minerals
• Quartz
• Feldspars
• Micas
Particle size is used to distinguish among
the various types of detrital rocks
Classification of clastic rocks
Classification of clastic rocks
Detrital sedimentary rocks
Common detrital sedimentary rocks (in
order of increasing particle size)
• Shale
– Mud-sized particles in thin layers that are
commonly referred to as laminae
– Most common sedimentary rock
Black Shale in southern Spain
Shale containing plant remains
Detrital sedimentary rocks
• Sandstone
– Composed of sand-sized particles
– Forms in a variety of environments
– Sorting, shape, and composition of the grains
can be used to interpret the rock’s history
– Quartz is the predominant mineral
Detrital sedimentary rocks
• Sandstone
Detrital sedimentary rocks
• Conglomerate and breccia
– Both are composed of particles greater than
2mm in diameter
– Conglomerate consists largely of rounded
gravels
– Breccia is composed mainly of large angular
particles
Conglomerate
Conglomerate
Breccia
Breccia
Breccia
Volcanoclastic breccia
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Consist of precipitated material that was
once in solution
Precipitation of material occurs in two
ways
• Inorganic processes
• Organic processes (biochemical origin)
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Common chemical sedimentary rocks
• Limestone
– Most abundant chemical rock
– Composed chiefly of the mineral calcite
– Marine biochemical limestones form as coral
reefs, coquina (broken shells), and chalk
(microscopic organisms)
– Inorganic limestones include travertine and
oolitic limestone
Coquina
Fossiliferous limestone
Fossiliferous limestone
Coral Garden
Tuwaiq Mountain, west of Riyadh
Fossiliferous limestone
Tuwaiq Mountain, west of Riyadh
Fossiliferous chalk
Oolitic
limestone
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Common chemical sedimentary rocks
• Dolostone
– Typically formed secondarily from limestone
• Chert
– Made of microcrystalline quartz
– Varieties include flint and jasper (banded
form is called agate)
flint and
chert
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Common chemical sedimentary rocks
• Evaporites
– Evaporation triggers deposition of chemical
precipitates
– Examples include rock salt and rock gypsum
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Halite or Sea Salt
• Evaporites
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Potassium Salts in Wahbah Crater
Salt
crust
Gypsum
Perculation
tubes
Chemical sedimentary rocks
Common chemical sedimentary rocks
• Coal
– Different from other rocks because it is
composed of organic material
– Stages in coal formation (in order)
– 1. Plant material
– 2. Peat
– 3. Lignite
– 4. Bituminous
Successive stages in coal formation
Classification of sedimentary rocks
Sedimentary rocks are classified
according to the type of material
Two major groups
• Detrital
• Chemical
Classification of sedimentary rocks
Two major textures are used in the
classification of sedimentary rocks
• Clastic
– Discrete fragments and particles
– All detrital rocks have a clastic texture
• Nonclastic
– Pattern of interlocking crystals
– May resemble an igneous rock
Sedimentary environments
A geographic setting where sediment is
accumulating
Determines the nature of the sediments
that accumulate (grain size, grain shape,
etc.)
Types of sedimentary environments
Sedimentary environments
Types of sedimentary environments
• Continental
– Dominated by erosion and deposition
associated with streams
– Glacial
– Wind (eolian)
• Marine
– Shallow (to about 200 meters)
– Deep (seaward of continental shelves)
Continental (left) and marine (right)
depositional environments
Sedimentary environments
Types of sedimentary environments
• Transitional (shoreline)
– Tidal flats
– Lagoons
– Deltas
Tidal Flat with rippled sand
Shallow lagoon with algal mat
Wadi Haliy, Red Sea
Beach
Sedimentary environments
Sedimentary facies
• Different sediments often accumulate
adjacent to one another at the same time
• Each unit (called a facies) possesses a
distinctive set of characteristics reflecting
the conditions in a particular environment
• The merging of adjacent facies tends to be
a gradual transition
Sedimentary facies
Sedimentary structures
Provide information useful in the
interpretation of Earth history
Types of sedimentary structures
• Strata, or beds (most characteristic of
sedimentary rocks)
• Bedding planes that separate strata
Sedimentary structures
Sedimentary structures
Types of sedimentary structures
• Cross-bedding
• Graded beds
• Ripple marks
• Mud cracks
• Bioturbation structures
Sedimentary structures
Cross-bedding
Sedimentary structures
Sedimentary structures
Submarine Fan deposits
In northern Spain:
Turbidites
Graded
bedding
Sedimentary structures
Ripple marks
Sedimentary structures
Mud cracks
Sedimentary structures
Bioturbation
Fossils: Evidence of past life
By definition, fossils are the traces or
remains of prehistoric life now preserved
in rock
Fossils are generally found in sediment or
sedimentary rock (rarely in metamorphic
and never in igneous rock)
Natural casts of
shelled invertebrates
Soft bodied fossils - carbonized films
0.5 mm
Lower Cambrian Haikouella
Hard part preservation
Fossils: Evidence of past life
Geologically fossils are important for
several reasons
• Aid in interpretation of the geologic past
• Serve as important time indicators
• Allow for correlation of rocks from
different places
Index Fossils
