Sedimentary Rocks

Interpretations
 What do Sedimentary Rocks
Record?

• Source of sediment
• Erosion and Transport Agent
• Distance of Transport
• Depositional Environment
• Paleogeography/Tectonic Setting
Interpretation of Composition

Detrital Rocks:
• Source of sediment
• Exposure to Weathering
(Distance of Transport)
(Type of Climate)
Note About Detrital Rock
Color & Composition
Grain Size
Smaller is often darker
Composition
Carbon - black or brown
Quartz - tan, clear, white
Orthoclase - orange
Depositional Environment
Iron on land - red
Iron in deep, oxygen poor water - green
 Interpretation: Grain Size
Gravel
High Energy River, Beach
Sand
River, Beach, Desert
Silt
Delta, Shallow
Ocean
Clay
Low Energy
Deep Ocean, Lake,
Swamp
Detrital Rock Names
(Based Primarily on Grain Size)

Gravel Sized:
Conglomerate
Sand Sized: Sandstone

Mud Sized:
Mudstone

Siltstone Shale
Interpretation: Sorting

Interpretation: Transport Agent

Poorly Sorted Gravity and Glaciers (and Rivers)
Well Sorted Water and Wind
Clast Supported
Conglomerate
(River Deposits)
 Matrix Supported Conglomerate
(Glacial/Landslide Deposits)

2.2 Gyr Conglomerate

“Modern”
Glacial Sediments
Interpretation: Grain Roundness

Interpretation:
Short Distance of Transport Far
 Limestone
Crystalline
Limestone

Fossiliferous Limestone

Chalk
 Formation of Limestone

Calcite Precipitates in
Warm Water
Water Under Low Pressure (Shallow)

Or

It is secreted by biological organisms

Clams, Mussels, Scallops, etc.
Corals
Foraminifera
 Limestone Represents:
Shallow Tropical Ocean
 Chalk
(Coccolithophores)
Black Sea
 Travertine
(Limestone)
Chert (Flint, Jasper, Agate…)
Diatom Steletons
 Chert
Represents

Deep Ocean
 Evaporites:
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Rock Rock Salt
Gypsum

Isolated,
Arid,
Salty
Sea/Lake
Peat and Coal
Swamp, Bog
 Intermission: Quiz
What can you say about the history of this
rock?

Deposited in a
beach/river or desert,
very far from the
source of the sediment.

Quartz Sandstone
 Intermission: Quiz
What can you say about the history of this
rock?

Deposited in a quiet
water environment
(deep ocean, lake,
lagoon). Dark color
implies oxygen-poor
environment, rich in
organic material.
Shale
 Intermission: Quiz
What can you say about the history of this
rock?

Deposited in a shallow
tropical ocean.

Limestone