Sedimentary Rocks Uluru, Australia

Grand Canyon, Arizona

White Cliffs of Dover, England

Pyramids of Giza in Eqypt

JMU Bluestone

Sedimentary Rock Examples Shale made from small sediments, clay and silt Conglomerate made from large sediments, pebbles Sandstone made from medium sediment, sand

Sedimentary Rock Examples Limestone found in Harrisonburg, used for buildings, contains calcite, dissolves in acid =caves Bituminous Coal, fossil fuel burned for energy, organic

Sedimentary Rock Composition Sediments (anything that settles out of water) Fragments of other rocks Plant and animal remains Minerals that settle out of solution. (Some minerals can dissolve in water or acids, when the acid or water is gone, the minerals are left behind to form rocks.) Grand Canyon, Arizona

Sedimentary Rock Formation 1) Clastic Rock Formed from fragments of other rock Compacted (pressed together) and cemented (“glued”) together over time Minerals are the “glue” that cement clastic sedimentary rocks Categorized by grain size Clay (Smallest Grain Size) Silt Sand Gravel Pebble (Largest Grain Size)

Shale  Sandstone Examples of Clastic Rocks: Conglomerate  Sedimentary Rocks Examples of Clastic Rocks: Shale  Sandstone Conglomerate 

Sedimentary Rock Formation 2) Chemical Rock precipitate out of solution Limestone Rock salt Rock gypsum 3) Organic Rock Plant & animal remains Chalk Coal

Sedimentary Rock Features 1) Stratification Layers of different sediment Most common Sedimentary rock feature Youngest layer is at the top Oldest layer is on the bottom

Sedimentary Rock Features 2) Fossils Evidence of living things Organisms get buried in the layers of sediment 3 types: Trace, imprint, replacement

Fossils

Aquatic (water) organisms are the most common type of fossil

Sedimentary Rock Features 3) Ripple marks Water or wind action in sand preserved in sandstone Can be seen on the surface of a bedding plane

Ripple Marks in Sandstone

Sedimentary Rock Features 4) Mud cracks Form as mud dries and gets preserved as a rock Mud Cracks

5) Geode Spheres of silica rock crystals contained within limestone rock.

SEDIMENTARY ROCK CLASTIC Rock fragments Compacted and cemented together Grain size Silt Clay Sand Gravel

SEDIMENTARY ROCK CHEMICAL Minerals precipitate out of solution Examples: Limestone Rock salt Rock gypsum

SEDIMENTARY ROCK ORGANIC Plant and animal remains Examples include: Bituminous coal Limestone Chalk

SEDIMENTARY ROCK SEDIMENTARY FEATURES: Stratification (layers) Fossils Ripple marks Mud cracks Geodes

Sedimentary Rock Lab Set up your field notebook (Include TITLE) Rotate independently between the 16 stations set up around the room Start with whichever station number you are located Round 1: You will have 1 minute at each station Do not switch to the next station until told to do so Round 2: You may go back to any unoccupied station, if needed

Stratification

Stratification Sedimentary Rocks