WHAT ARE EVAPORITE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS?

EVAPORITES ARE A TYPE OF CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY

ROCK THAT FORM WHEN MINERALS PRECIPITATE OUT
OF AN EVAPORATING AQUEOUS SOLUTION AND
CRYSTALLIZE.
THE PROCESS OF EVAPORITE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• EVAPORITE CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY ROCKS FORM AS WATER
EVAPORATES FROM A LAKE OR OCEAN.
• DURING THE PROCESS OF EVAPORATION, WATER MOLECULES CHANGE
FROM THE LIQUID PHASE TO THE GAS PHASE, BUT ATOMS SUCH AS
CALCIUM, SODIUM, AND CHLORINE ARE LEFT BEHIND.
• AS A RESULT, THE REMAINING WATER BECOMES ENRICHED IN THESE
ATOMS WHICH BEGIN TO PRECIPITATE FROM THE WATER.
• EVAPORITE MINERALS AND ROCKS TEND TO FORM IN ARID CLIMATES
WHERE THE RATE OF EVAPORATION GREATLY EXCEEDS RAINFALL.
• THEREFORE, EVAPORITES ARE COMMON WHERE LAKES FORM AND THEN
EVAPORATE IN A DESERT (SUCH LAKES ARE REFERRED TO AS PLAYA LAKES),
OR IN SHALLOW AND WARM ARMS OF THE OCEAN ADJACENT TO DESERT
AREAS.
• EVAPORITES ARE LIGHT IN COLOR, AND SO CAN BE READILY RECOGNIZED,
EVEN FROM A GREAT DISTANCE.
Playa lake in California that is
in the process of evaporating.
A thick deposit of rock gypsum within a
sequence of sedimentary rocks
exposed in the Rocky Mountains of
Colorado.
PLACE OF EVAPORITE DEPOSITS
• EVAPORITE DEPOSITS OCCUR IN CLOSED MARINE BASINS WHERE EVAPORATION EXCEEDS
INFLOW. THE DEPOSITS OFTEN SHOW A REPEATED SEQUENCE OF MINERALS, INDICATING
CYCLIC CONDITIONS WITH A MINERALOGY DETERMINED BY SOLUBILITY.
• THE MOST IMPORTANT MINERALS AND THE SEQUENCE IN WHICH THEY FORM
INCLUDE, GYPSUM, ANHYDRITE, HALITE, POLYHALITE, AND
LASTLY POTASSIUM AND MAGNESIUM SALTS SUCH AS SYLVITE, CARNALLITE, KAINITE, AND
KIESERITE; ANHYDRITE AND HALITE DOMINATE.
• THESE SEQUENCES HAVE BEEN REPRODUCED IN LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND, THEREFORE,
THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONDITIONS FOR EVAPORITE FORMATION ARE WELL KNOWN.
 HALITE
Physical Properties of Halite
Chemical Classification Halide
Colorless or white when pure; impurities produce any
Color
color but usually yellow, gray, black, brown, red
Streak White
Luster Vitreous
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent
Cleavage Perfect, cubic, three directions at right angles
Mohs Hardness 2.5
Specific Gravity 2
Cleavage, solubility, salty taste (The taste test is
Diagnostic Properties discouraged. Some minerals are toxic or contaminated
by other people tasting them.)
Chemical Composition NaCl
Crystal System Isometric
Winter road treatment, a source of sodium and chlorine
Uses
for chemical processes, food preservation, seasoning
Halite is the mineral name for the substance that everyone
knows as "salt." Its chemical name is sodium chloride, and a
rock composed primarily of halite is known as "rock salt."
HOW DOES HALITE FORM?
HALITE IS MAINLY A SEDIMENTARY MINERAL THAT USUALLY FORMS IN
ARID CLIMATES WHERE OCEAN WATER EVAPORATES. HOWEVER, MANY
INLAND LAKES SUCH AS THE GREAT SALT LAKE OF NORTH AMERICA
AND THE DEAD SEA BETWEEN JORDAN AND ISRAEL ARE ALSO
LOCATIONS WHERE HALITE IS FORMING TODAY. OVER GEOLOGIC TIME,
SEVERAL ENORMOUS SALT DEPOSITS HAVE BEEN FORMED WHEN
REPEATED EPISODES OF SEAWATER EVAPORATION OCCURRED IN
RESTRICTED BASINS. SOME OF THESE DEPOSITS ARE THOUSANDS OF
FEET THICK. WHEN BURIED DEEPLY THEY CAN ERUPT TO FORM SALT
DOMES.
USES OF HALITE
SALT HAS MANY USES. MOST OF THE SALT PRODUCED IS CRUSHED AND USED IN THE
WINTER ON ROADS TO CONTROL THE ACCUMULATION OF SNOW AND ICE. SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNTS OF SALT ARE ALSO USED BY THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. SALT IS AN ESSENTIAL
NUTRIENT FOR HUMANS AND MOST ANIMALS, AND IT IS ALSO A FAVORITE SEASONING
FOR MANY TYPES OF FOOD. SALT IS A MINERAL THAT EVERYONE KNOWS.
 GYPSUM
Physical Properties of Gypsum
Chemical Classification Sulfate
Color Clear, colorless, white, gray, yellow, red, brown
Streak White
Luster Vitreous, silky, sugary
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent
Cleavage Perfect
Mohs Hardness 2
Specific Gravity 2.3
Diagnostic Properties Cleavage, specific gravity, low hardness
Chemical Composition Hydrous calcium sulfate, CaSO4.2H2O
Crystal System Monoclinic
Used to manufacture dry wall, plaster, joint
Uses
compound. An agricultural soil treatment.
Gypsum is an evaporite mineral most commonly found in layered sedimentary deposits in
association with halite, anhydrite, sulfur, calcite, and dolomite. Gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) is
very similar to Anhydrite (CaSO4). The chemical difference is that gypsum contains two
waters and anhydrite is without water. Gypsum is the most common sulfate mineral.
USES OF GYPSUM
GYPSUM USES INCLUDE: MANUFACTURE OF WALLBOARD, CEMENT, PLASTER
OF PARIS, SOIL CONDITIONING, A HARDENING RETARDER IN PORTLAND
CEMENT. VARIETIES OF GYPSUM KNOWN AS "SATIN SPAR" AND
"ALABASTER" ARE USED FOR A VARIETY OF ORNAMENTAL PURPOSES;
HOWEVER, THEIR LOW HARDNESS LIMITS THEIR DURABILITY.
ANHYDRITE
Physical Properties of Anhydrite
Chemical Classification Sulfate
Colorless, white, and light shades of brown, red, gray,
Color
pink, blue, violet
Streak White
Luster Vitreous to pearly
Diaphaneity Transparent to translucent
Perfect cleavage in three directions to form cubic-
Cleavage
shaped cleavage fragments
Mohs Hardness 3 to 3.5
Specific Gravity 2.9 to 3
Cubic cleavage, harder than gypsum, higher specific
Diagnostic Properties
gravity than calcite, no acid reaction.
Chemical Composition CaSO4
Crystal System Orthorhombic
Soil treatment. Ingredient in plaster and other
Uses
construction materials.
WHAT IS ANHYDRITE?
• ANHYDRITE IS AN EVAPORITE MINERAL THAT OCCURS IN EXTENSIVE LAYERED
DEPOSITS IN SEDIMENTARY BASINS WHERE LARGE VOLUMES OF SEA WATER
HAVE BEEN EVAPORATED. IT IS TYPICALLY INTERBEDDED
WITH HALITE, GYPSUM, AND LIMESTONE IN ACCUMULATIONS THAT CAN BE
UP TO HUNDREDS OF FEET THICK. ON A MUCH SMALLER SCALE, ANHYDRITE
CAN FORM IN SHORELINE OR TIDAL FLAT SEDIMENTS FROM THE EVAPORATION
OF SEA WATER.
• ANHYDRITE ALSO OCCURS AS A VEIN-FILLING MINERAL IN HYDROTHERMAL DEPOSITS.
IT IS DEPOSITED FROM SOLUTION, OFTEN ALONG WITH CALCITE AND HALITE, AS
GANGUE IN SULFIDE MINERAL DEPOSITS. ANHYDRITE IS ALSO FOUND IN THE CAP ROCK
OF SALT DOMES AND IN CAVITIES OF TRAP ROCK.

• ANHYDRITE IS AN ANHYDROUS CALCIUM SULFATE WITH A COMPOSITION OF CASO4. IT

IS CLOSELY RELATED TO GYPSUM, WHICH HAS A CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
CASO4.2H2O. THE WORLDWIDE ABUNDANCE OF GYPSUM GREATLY EXCEEDS THE
ABUNDANCE OF ANHYDRITE.
USES OF ANHYDRITE
ANHYDRITE CAN BE SUBSTITUTED FOR GYPSUM IN SOME OF ITS USES. BOTH MINERALS
ARE CRUSHED FOR USE AS A SOIL TREATMENT, AND IN THIS PURPOSE ANHYDRITE IS
SUPERIOR.

SMALL AMOUNTS OF ANHYDRITE ARE USED AS DRYING AGENTS IN PLASTER, PAINT, AND
VARNISH. IT IS ALSO USED ALONG WITH GYPSUM TO PRODUCE PLASTER, JOINT
COMPOUND, WALLBOARD, AND OTHER PRODUCTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
SOURCE
• HTTPS://WEB.CSULB.EDU/DEPTS/GEOLOGY/FACULTYPAGES/BPERRY/SEDIMENTARY%20ROCKS%20TOU
R/CHEMICAL_SEDIMENTARY_ROCKS.HTM
• HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/SCIENCE/EVAPORITE
• HTTP://GEOLOGY.COM/MINERALS/ANHYDRITE.SHTML
• HTTP://GEOLOGY.COM/MINERALS/HALITE.SHTML
• HTTP://GEOLOGY.COM/MINERALS/GYPSUM.SHTML
THANK YOU