Lithic sandstones, or lithic arenites, or litharenites, are sandstones with a significant (>5%) component of lithic fragments, though quartz and feldspar are usually present as well, along with some clayey matrix. Lithic sandstones can have a speckled (salt and pepper) or gray color, and are usually associated with one specific type of lithic fragment (i.e., igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic).[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Lithic-arenite.jpg/220px-Lithic-arenite.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/LvMS-Lvm.jpg/220px-LvMS-Lvm.jpg)
Tectonically, lithic sandstones often form in a wide variety sedimentary depositional environments (including fluvial, deltaic, and alluvial sediments) associated with active margins. This tectonic setting provides the source of the lithic fragments, either through arc volcanism, thin-skinned faulting, continental collisions, unroofing, and subduction roll-back.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Prothero, D. R. and Schwab, F., 1996, Sedimentary Geology, pg. 100, ISBN 0-7167-2726-9