Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks
 Products of mechanical and chemical weathering
 Account for about 5% of Earth’s crust
 Contain evidence of past environments
 Texture

 Fossils
 Sedimentary Rocks
Texture and composition - the keys to classification.
Texture:
Clastic or detrital
Non-clastic
Chemical (or crystalline)
Biochemical
Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic or detrital rocks are composed of particles of pre-
existing rocks which have been weathered, eroded,
transported, deposited, and cemented together.
Grain size (energy)
Rounding - energy and length of transport
Sorting - uniformity of grain size
Sedimentary Rocks

Chemical sedimentary rocks: precipitated from solution.

Texture also referred to as crystalline- readily
recognized in moderately coarse-grained examples.
Very fine-grained chemical rocks appear massive.
Some limestone, halite, sulfates, etc.
Evaporites are a common source.
Also caves, hot springs.
Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical rocks: formed by the processes of organisms
Calcite or silica shells or skeletons.
Form directly (coral reefs) or
Cemented together after organisms die & accumulate

Energetic wave action may break up shells and produce

clastic textures
= clastic or biochemical??
We'll consider it biochemical because the fragments are
of biochemical origin
If shell fragments are clearly recognizable, the texture is
called skeletal
Sedimentary Rocks
 Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic/Detrital Rocks
Shale- fine grained (mud, silt, clay)
Fissile (splits in layers)

Fissile Shale
Shale with leaf fossils

Low-energy environment:
Offshore shallow marine
Lake
 Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic/Detrital Rocks
Siltsone/mudstone- fine grained (mud, silt, clay)
Massive- breaks in clumps

Low-energy environment:
Offshore shallow marine
Lake
Shale with leaf fossils Fissile Shale
Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic/Detrital Rocks
Sandstone- Composed of sand-sized particles
Well-sorted: water or wind
Forms in a variety of environments: beach, floodplain…
Quartz is the predominant mineral

Thin-section of sandstone under the petrographic microscope

Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic/Detrital Rocks
Graywacke
“Immature” sandstone
Contains lots of easily-weathered material:
Mafic minerals, volcanic glass/ash

Typically occurs in subsiding basin

near an active volcanic arc
(uplift/erosion and burial > chemical
weathering)
Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic/Detrital Rocks
Conglomerate-
Pebbles/cobbles
Well-rounded: long transport
High-energy environments:
Beach, River
Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic/Detrital Rocks

Breccia-
Pebbles/cobbles
Poorly-rounded: short transport
High-energy environments:
Beach, River, Fault zone

Breccia
Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical Rocks Some Limestone is precipitated
directly from water

Also true for some dolostone

(Ca-Mg-carbonate) and chert
(SiO2)
Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical Rocks Some Limestone is precipitated
directly from water

Travertine is typically precipitated from

groundwater and is seen in caves Oolitic limestone contains small
spherical ooids
 Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical Rocks Evaporites are precipitated directly
from seawater when a large
quantity evaporates

Rock salt Rock Gypsum

Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical Rocks
Most Limestone is organic:
precipitated as shells, reefs,
and even as tiny shells from
planktonic life

Fossiliferous Limestones
 Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical Rocks Most Limestone is organic:
precipitated as shells, reefs, and even
as tiny shells from planktonic life

Chalk fossils
under electron
microscope

Limestone Reef Chalk Cliffs

Sedimentary Rocks Biochemical Rocks

Coquina is composed of broken-up

shell fragments due to marine wave
action in the near-tidal zone
It also qualifies as a detrital rock
Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical Rocks
Chert, like chalk, is composed of tiny shells
from planktonic life, but the organisms involved
secrete SiO2 shells.

Diatoms and radiolaria

have microscopic SiO2
shells
Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical Rocks

Coal is organic: buried and un-oxidized plant remains

Sedimentary Rocks
Biochemical Rocks

Coal is organic: buried and un-oxidized plant remains

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Environments

Using sedimentary rocks to interpret Earth history

 Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Structures

Large-scale cross-beds: wind-blown

sands in an arid environment

Many sedimentary structures may be

used to determine original upward
direction in vertical or overturned strata
Ripple-marks: running water- beach or river
Using sedimentary rocks to interpret Earth history
Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Structures

Graded beds- offshore turbidites

Using sedimentary rocks to interpret Earth history

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Structures

Mud-cracks and raindrop imprints

Using sedimentary rocks to interpret Earth history