Lab: Sedimentary Rock Identification: Composition. Examples Are Shales, Sandstones, and

General Geology Lab : SEDIMENTARY ROCK IDENTIFICATION
Lab : Sedimentary Rock Identification

Sedimentary rocks are commonly composed of material that has been
weathered, transported, and deposited by various processes at the Earth’s
surface, including flowing water, wind, waves and glaciers. The weathered
sediments are then compacted and cemented into rock. Other types of
sedimentary rocks form by precipitation from solutions
Sedimentary rocks are not classified in the same systematic way that the
igneous rocks are classified. Instead, we look primarily at the composition of
the sediment particles or grains. Secondary classification is done on the
basis of grain size.
Classification of Sedimentary Rocks fits into two major categories:

1) Clastic rocks are composed of fragments or particles of other
rocks. Clastic rocks are classified by texture (grain size) and
composition. Examples are shales, sandstones, and
conglomerates.
2) Non-clastic or Chemical rocks are composed of interlocking
crystals. There are two subcategories of chemical rocks:
• Inorganic chemical rocks are precipitated directly from
water usually by evaporation or chemical changes in
water chemistry. Examples are halite and gypsum.
• Organic chemical rocks are composed of fragments of
shells or hard parts from invertebrate animals.
Limestones and cherts can be from organic sources.
Composition: The majority of sedimentary rocks are composed of only

five constituents: 1) quartz, 2) feldspar, 3) calcite, 4) clay minerals, and 5)
rock fragments
• If grains are dominated by silicate minerals like quartz, feldspar,
muscovite, clays etc, we classify the sediment as siliciclastic and the
rocks formed from these grains siliciclastic sedimentary rocks.
• If the grains are composed of calcium carbonate (calcite and
aragonite) that was mostly derived from living organisms (e.g., shells,
skeletons), we classify the sediment as biochemical (or bioclastic)
most biochemical rocks are limestones.
• Chemical sedimentary rocks are derived from mineral precipitation
from water. Sea water evaporation leads to the evaporite minerals
(halite, dolomite, gypsum and anhydrite). Evaporation of saline
lakes leads to banded gypsum.
• Organic sedimentary rocks are composed of material formed by
organic processes such as animal shells or plant material
Grain size
The siliciclastic and biochemical sedimentary rocks are largely distinguished

on the basis of particle size.
• If you can see grains and if many/most are bigger than 2mm then
you are dealing with gravel.
• If the particles are visible by eye or with the use of your hand lens,
but are smaller than 2mm, they are called sand.
• The hard sizes are silt and clay because they are too fine to see by
eye or even with a hand lens. We call sediment dominated by silt and
clay sized particles mud
SILICICLASTIC ROCKS
Are composed of fragments of minerals or rocks derived from pre-exisiting
rock or formed during the weathering process
• Siliciclastic sedimentary rocks composed of gravel sized particles. If
the particles are well rounded, the rock is said to be a conglomerate. If
the particles are poorly rounded or “angular” the rock is called breccia.
• Siliciclastic sedimentary rocks composed of sand sized particles.
These so-called sandstones come in 4 categories
1. Quartz Arenite (if the particles are quartz grains)
2. Arkose (if the particles contain significant amounts of feldspar –
usually orthoclase)
3. Lithic Sandstone (if the particles consist of quartz and dark
grains)
4. Greywacke (if the sandstone contains grains and lots of fine
mud)
• Mud sized sedimentary rocks are usually called shales (sometimes
mudstone is used). Shales come in different colours reflecting different
conditions during sedimentation.
1. Red shale formed on river floodplains and distal portions of

alluvial fans where oxidation occurred (the red colour is due to
“rusted iron”).
2. Black shales form in areas where there is no oxygen
(anaerobic environments) and there is plenty of organic material
like swamps (the black colour is carbon).
3. Green shales form in areas that are anaerobic but where
organic material is not abundant
Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks

Most of the particles in these sedimentary rocks were derived from fossil
remains,
• If you can see fossils that are larger than 2 mm in size and if the rock
fizzes everywhere with acid, call the rock a fossiliferous limestone.
• If the rock fizzes with HCL but appears to be devoid of fossils and is
instead composed of mud-sized particles, the rock is best called a non-
fossiliferous limestone
Chalk is white in colour, usually very soft (like kaolinite) and fizzes when you
add acid to it, Chalks are composed of exceptionally tiny animal remains
Naming Sedimentary rocks
Names applied to sedimentary rocks are usually related to grain size in

clastic rocks or composition in chemical and organic rocks For instance
• Sandstone is a stone made up predominately of sand

• Siltstone is a rock composed of silt.
• Shale is a rock made up predominately of silt and clay that is fissile
(fissility is the property of rocks splitting along closely spaced planes
more or less parallel to the bedding).
• A conglomerate is a rock consisting of a conglomeration of gravel-
sized matrix.
• Breccia is like a conglomerate except the pebbles are angular instead
of rounded.
• Limestone consists mainly of the mineral calcite.
• Rock dolomite is mainly the mineral dolomite
• Rock gypsum and rock salt are composed of gypsum and halite
respectively
Clastic Texture
Compositional notes Rock Name
Particle Size
Rounded rock or mineral fragments Conglomerate

Conglomerate Coarse (>2
mm) Gravel
Angular rock or mineral fragments Breccia
Quartz Sandstone
quartz grains & minor accessory minerals
(mature)
at least 25% feldspar; typically poorly sorted, Arkose

Medium (0.062-2 mm)
Sand
at least 20% clay minerals, some rock
Graywacke
fragments & quartz & feldspar grains
< 10% feldspar; typically rich in quartz Subgraywacke (immature)
Fine (0.004-0.062 mm) Gritty, A massive rock of silt-size particles,

Siltstone
silt/mud dominantly quartz & accessory clay minerals
A massive rock composed of clay particles

Claystone
Very fine (<0.004 mm) Very fine, non-foliated
mud/clay
Laminated or fissile claystone Shale
Table 1. Clastic sedimentary rock
Composition Texture Rock name Origin
Crystalline
fine to coarse crystalline Inorganic
limestone
fine to coarse crystalline; banded appearance Travertine Inorganic
Calcite Clastic; visible shells & shell fragments loosely

Coquina Organic
(CaCO3) cemented
Clastic; various size shells and shell fragments Fossiliferous

Organic
cemented with calcite cement; Limestone
Clastic; microscopic shells and clay Chalk Organic
Chert (light
Quartz (SiO2) very fine crystalline (cryptocrystalline; dense, hard colored) Flint Inorganic
(dark colored)
Gypsum
fine to coarse crystalline Rock Gypsum Inorganic
CaSO4-2H2O
Halite NaCl fine to coarse crystalline Rock Salt Inorganic
Altered plant
fine-grained organic matter Bituminous Coal Organic
fragments
SiO2 Clastic; Siliceous skeletons of microscopic organisms Diatomite Organic
Table 2. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks,

Lab 4: Sedimentary Rock Identification

Name: Student No. Group: Time:
1. Select a sedimentary rock specimen and describe its characteristics using the provided table below.
2. Refer to Table 1&2 to help you name the rock. Repeat for other sedimentary rock
TEXTURE
ORIGIN, Structure &
Clastic, Clastic, REACTION BASIC other
Sample No. Chemical- COLOUR COMPOSITION
grain size, Chemical, or WITH HCL NAME properties e.g.
Crystaline, Biochemical. lamination,
roundness,
microcrystaline Hardness, etc
Sorting
4
TEXTURE
ORIGIN,
Structure &
Clastic, Chemical, REACTION BASIC other
Sample No. Chemical COLOUR COMPOSITION
grain size, Biochemical. WITH HCL NAME
properties e.g.
Crystaline or or Clastic
roundness, lamination,
microcrystaline
Sorting Hardness, etc
8

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General Geology Lab : SEDIMENTARY ROCK IDENTIFICATION

Lab : Sedimentary Rock Identification

Classification of Sedimentary Rocks fits into two major categories:

Composition: The majority of sedimentary rocks are composed of only

The siliciclastic and biochemical sedimentary rocks are largely distinguished

1. Red shale formed on river floodplains and distal portions of

Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks

Naming Sedimentary rocks

Names applied to sedimentary rocks are usually related to grain size in

• Sandstone is a stone made up predominately of sand

Rounded rock or mineral fragments Conglomerate

at least 25% feldspar; typically poorly sorted, Arkose

< 10% feldspar; typically rich in quartz Subgraywacke (immature)

Fine (0.004-0.062 mm) Gritty, A massive rock of silt-size particles,

A massive rock composed of clay particles

Table 1. Clastic sedimentary rock

Composition Texture Rock name Origin

fine to coarse crystalline; banded appearance Travertine Inorganic

Calcite Clastic; visible shells & shell fragments loosely

Clastic; various size shells and shell fragments Fossiliferous

Clastic; microscopic shells and clay Chalk Organic

Halite NaCl fine to coarse crystalline Rock Salt Inorganic

SiO2 Clastic; Siliceous skeletons of microscopic organisms Diatomite Organic

Table 2. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks,

Lab 4: Sedimentary Rock Identification

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