Chapter 3: The Classification of Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

A very basic classification of

all sedimentary rocks is
based on the type of material
that is deposited and the
modes of deposition.
Classification based on grain size

A simple classification of terrigenous clastic rocks and sediment is based

on the predominant grain size of the material:

Grain Sediment Rock Name Adjectives

Size1 name
(mm)
>2 Gravel Rudite Cobble, pebble, well
sorted, etc.
0.0625-2 Sand Arenite Coarse, medium, well
sorted, etc.
< 0.0625 Mud Mudstone Silt or clay
or
Lutite
1
For the purposes of this general classification we will assign the rock or sediment
name shown if more than 50% of the particles are in the range shown. More
detailed classification schemes will limit terms on the basis of different proportions
of sediment within a given grain size.
Classification of Sandstones

Most sandstone classifications are based on the composition of the rock.

Dott’s classificaton scheme is used in most courses at Brock.

It is based on the relative proportions of:

Martrix (fine-grained - <0.03mm - material that is associated with the sand grains).

Quartz

Feldspar

Rock fragments (sand grains that are made up crystals of two or more different minerals).
To classify sandstones using Dott’s scheme the first step is to determine
composition of the rock.
Point counting is a method whereby a thin section on a petrographic
microscope is examined by stepping across the thin section at equal
intervals and identifying the material (quartz, feldspars, rock fragments
or matrix) that lies immediately beneath the cross hairs. Counting 250
to 300 grains will accurately yield the proportion of each component.
Example Point Count Data:
A first order classification is
Component Number of Proportion based on the proportion of
Grains counted (%) matrix that is present:

Quartz 73 26 % matrix Rock Name

Feldspar 56 20
< 15 Arenite
Rock fragments 34 12
Matrix 118 42 15 - 75 Wacke or
Graywacke
Total: 281 100
>75 Mudstone
Example Point Count Data:
A first order classification is
Component Number of Proportion based on the proportion of
Grains counted (%) matrix that is present:

Quartz 73 26 % matrix Rock Name

Feldspar 56 20
< 15 Arenite
Rock fragments 34 12
Matrix 118 42 15 - 75 Wacke or
Graywacke
Total: 281 100
>75 Mudstone
To classify Arenites and Graywacke’s on the basis of their specific
compositions the data must be “normalized” to 100% quartz, feldspars
and rock fragments QFLt.

A. Total Rock A. Quartz, feldspars and rock fragments.

Component Proportion Component Proportion1

(%) (%)
Quartz (Q) 26 Quartz =(26/58)*100 45
Feldspar (F) 20 Feldspar =(20/58)*100 34
Rock fragments (Rf) 12 Rock fragments =(12/58)*100 21
Matrix 30 a graywacke
Total: 100
Cement 12
Total: 100
Total Q+ F+Rf= 58
1
Calculated as the proportion of each
component in the total rock divided by the
total proportion of quartz, feldspars and
rock fragments (in this case that total is 58).
The next step is to plot the
normalized data on a ternary
diagram to determine the specific
field in which the data fall.
The next step is to plot the
normalized data on a ternary
diagram to determine the specific
field in which the data fall.
If the proportion of matrix is less
than 15% plot the data and use
Dott’s diagram for the
classification of arenites.
If the proportion of matrix is less
than 15% plot the data and use
Dott’s diagram for the
classification of arenites.
If the proportion of matrix is less
than 15% plot the data and use
Dott’s diagram for the
classification of arenites.
If the proportion of matrix is less
than 15% plot the data and use
Dott’s diagram for the
classification of arenites.
 This classification is based on the major component of most sandstones
and provides a basis for a consistent nomenclature for sandstones.

The names can be modified to reflect other components of the rock (cement):

e.g., Calcareous quartz arenite: a quartz arenite with a calcite cement.

Specific types of rock fragments may also be important in determining the

history of the sediment.

Fragments of limestone or dolomite are simply classed as “rock

fragments” using Dott’s scheme.

Such grains break down rapidly with transport so that their presence
suggests that the sediment was deposited very close to the area that it
was produced.
I. Genetic Implications of Sandstone Composition

In addition to providing a basis for sandstone nomenclature, the

composition of a sandstone also indicates something of its history.

a) Maturity of a sandstone

Maturity refers to the cumulative changes that particles go through as it

is produced by weathering and is transported to a final site of deposition.

Given that the source rocks for many sediments are pre-existing
sedimentary rocks, a very mature sediment may have been through the
rock cycle several times.
Clastic sedimentary rocks
can be made up of
“multicycled” particles.

i.e., have passed through the

rock cycle several times.

Each time through the cycle

the sediment becomes
more and more mature.
Sediment texture and mineralogical composition all reflect the maturity
of a sediment.
Most changes are related to transport distance, nature of weathering at
the site of sediment formation and number of passes through the rock
cycle.
i) Textural Maturity

Changes in grain size and shape.

Increasing textural maturity

decreasing matrix
Increased sorting

Increased rounding

Increased sphericity
Maturity of terrigenous clastic material

The texture of sediment or sedimentary rock can

be used to indicate something about the erosion,
transport and depositional history.

Any sandstone that is classified as a wacke is

considered to be texturally immature.
Arenites can be subdivided on the basis of the
sorting and shape of the grains. If sorting is
moderate to poor the sediment is considered to
be submature. Well-sorted or very wellsorted
sands are considered mature if the individual
grains are angular to subrounded and
supermature if rounded to well-rounded.

Maturity often increases downstream in a river

and once the same sediment reaches a beach the
high wave energy will further increase the
maturity.
 The name of a sandstone tells you something of its maturity.
E.g., a Quartz arenite has less than 15% matrix and is better sorted than
a Quartz graywacke.

The quartz arenite is more mature (greater transport distance and/or

more times through the rock cycle) than the Quartz graywacke.

ii) Compositional Maturity

Compositional maturity is reflected by the relative proportion of

physically soft or chemically unstable grains.

The fewer the soft or unstable grains, the more mature the sediment.
What is the relative stability of minerals?

Bowen’s Reaction series shows the sequence in which minerals

crystallize from a cooling magma.
Mineral stability can also be shown using Bowen’s Reaction series:

The earliest minerals to crystallize are the least stable.

Quartz is the most stable of the common mineral; it resists chemcial
weathering and is the most common mineral in most sedimentary rocks.

Potassium feldspar is
also common but
Muscovite is relatively
soft and breaks down
during transport.

The stability of rock

fragments varies with
their mineralogy.
The most “mature” sediment would be made up of 100% quartz
grains.

With increased transport and number of times through the rock cycle
the less stable minerals are lost.

The “average” igneous and metamorphic rocks contain 60%

feldspars.
The “average” sandstone contains 12% feldspars.

This reflects the fact that many sandstones are made up of particles
that have been through several passes of the rock cycle.
b) Provenance of a sediment
Provenance: where something originated.
The Provenance of a sediment is inferred from aspects of composition
that reflect the source rock and tectonic and climatic characteristics
of the source area for the sediment.
i) Tectonic setting

The source rock of a sediment and the tectonic setting are closely linked:
the tectonic setting determines the relative abundance of different types
of rock that is available for weathering and the production of clastic
sediment.
e.g., An arkosic sandstone (rich in feldspars) would have a source area
that is rich in granites.
A mountain chain adjacent to a convergent margin (e.g., modern Andes)?
An exposed craton (e.g., the Canadian Shield)?
Not foolproof! These are two very different tectonic settings.

e.g., a sandstone with abundant volcanic and low grade metamorphic

rock fragments.
Island arc setting.
Quartz arenite: sedimentary source rocks; uplifted sediments in an
orogenic belt.
ii) Climate

Climate exerts a strong control on the type of weathering that takes place
in the source area of a sediment; this, in turn, influences composition.

1- Cold, arid climate: predominantly physical weathering, producing

abundant detrital grains (unaltered mineral grains and rock fragments).

Sandstones produced in such settings will be relatively immature,

depending on the source rocks.

2- Warm, humid climate: chemical weathering predominates.

Unstable minerals removed from the sediment that is produced by
weathering.
Will produce a more mature sediment than a cold climate.
II. Genetic Classification of sedmentary rocks

Classification on the basis of how the rocks were deposited.

Commonly independent of composition, grain size, etc.

a) Tillite

A rock that is made up of lithified till that was deposited from glacial
ice.
Normally very poorly sorted (mud to gravel-size particles) and the
gravel is angular.
b) Turbidites

Rocks made up of sediment

that was deposited from a
turbidity current.

http://cima.uprm.edu/~morelock/8_image/7turb.jpg

Turbidity currents are subaqueous flows of water and sediment that

flow down slope under the influence of gravity.
c) Storm Beds (Tempestites)

The lithified deposits of

storms influencing a shallow
marine environment.

Independent of grain size or

lithology.