SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

SELF-LEARNING PACKAGE
Quarter 1 | Week 5

Geologic Processes

SHS—Earth & Life Science

Competency/ies: Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation
of folds and faults; and describe how stratified rocks are formed
(S11/12ES-Id –-22—Ie–25)
Earth & Life Science – SHS
Self-Learning Package
Geologic Processes
First Edition, 2020

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SHS—Earth & Life Science

Competency/ies: Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation
of folds and faults; and describe how stratified rocks are formed
(S11/12ES-Id –-22—Ie–25)
Introductory Message
Welcome!

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Good luck and God bless.

SHS—Earth & Life Science

Competency/ies: Explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation
of folds and faults; and describe how stratified rocks are formed
(S11/12ES-Id –-22—Ie–25)
 SELF-LEARNING PACKAGE IN

EARTH AND
LIFE SCIENCE
Geologic Processes
Learning Competency/ies:
Explain how the movement of plates leads to the for-
mation of folds and faults; and describe how stratified
rocks are formed
(S11/12ES-Id –-22—Ie–25)
 LESSON 1: Explain Movement of Plates which Leads to the Formation
of Faults an Folds

Ready to Launch!

Do you enjoy visiting natural eco– parks, hiking and trekking to moun-
tains, exploring caves and even sitting on a hill with your love ones? Do you
ever wonder how these landforms were formed?
Formation of mountains is a direct result of plate tectonic activity. Geo-
logic structures such as faults, folds, and layering found in mountains can be
used to infer the type and direction of plate tectonic stresses in both ancient
and presently active mountains .
At this point, you may have now an idea of what this lesson is about.

Aim at the Target!

In this module, you will be able to:
• explain how the movement of plates leads to the formation of folds and
faults.

Try This!

Instruction:
On the following page, you will see images of landforms. Tell wheth-
er each was formed from a fold or a fault geologic process. Write FOLD or
FAULT on your paper.
 1. _________________ 2. _________________

3. __________________ 4. ___________________

5. ___________________ 6. ____________________
 Keep This in Mind!

What happens when you squeeze together flexible material like plastic or
a sponge? What happens when you pull a sponge apart? Now think of what
happens when you squeeze together brittle material like glass or eggs—do
they bend or do they break?

Activity Bend or Break (can be done if materials are available)

Materials: Play dough or clay in 4 different colors, ruler, 2 pieces thick

cardboard

Procedure:

1. Roll out the different colors of clay into 6” by 6” flat layers that are 1/2-
1” thick.

2. Stack the different-colored layers on top of each other on a flat surface

(the different colored layers represent rock layers).

3. Place the layered block of play dough or clay between the two vertical
pine boards and slowly squeeze the layered block of play dough or clay by
pushing the two pine boards together from the sides. (In this step, you are
modeling compression which occurs when Earth’s crust is squeezed to-
gether.)

4. Stop squeezing when you have pushed the layered play dough or clay
about 1 inch on each side.

5. Describe the appearance of the layered clay. Record your observation.

(Results may vary but you should either get a syncline [bend downwards]
6. Now, think of real-life formations that form due to compression forces. (For
example, mountains and valleys could form due to compression forces.)

7.Flatten out your block of play dough or clay back to its original form.

8. Instead of squeezing the layered block of play dough or clay, pull on the
sides with your hands. (In this step, you are modeling tension which occurs
when Earth’s crust is pulled apart.)

9. Think of real-life formations that occur as a result of tension forces.

10. Record what happened when you pulled the layered block apart.

Analysis

1) What happened when you squeezed the play dough or clay together

2) What happened when you pulled the play dough or clay apart?

3) What is the difference between compression and tension forces?

4) How do folds and faults form?

5) How can models help explain the different forces that the Earth’s crust ex-
periences?

Abstraction and Generalization (on Plate Tectonics )

Fault. A fault is a break in the rocks that make up the earth's crust, along
which on either side rocks move pass eachother. Larger faults are mostly from
action occuring in earth's plates. A fault line is the trace of a fault, or the line of
intersection between the fault line and the earth's surface.

Stike-slip faults are vertical (or nearly vertical) fractures where the blocks
have mostly moved horizontally. If the block opposite an observer looking
across the fault moves to the right, the slip style is termed right lateral; if the
block moves to the left, the motion is termed left lateral.
 Dip-slip faults are inclined frac-
tures where the blocks have mostly
shifted vertically. If the rock mass
above an inclined fault moves down,
the fault is termed normal, whereas if
the rock above the fault moves up,
the fault is termed reverse.
A transform fault is a special va-
riety of strike-slip fault that accom-
modates relative horizontal slip between other tectonic elements, such as
oceanic crustal plates. Often extend from oceanic ridges.

Fold. A fold is when one or more originally bent surfaces are bent or curved
as the result of permanent deformation.
Folding and Warping

Syncline and anticline are terms used to describe folds based on the rel-
ative ages of folded rock layers. A syncline is a fold in which the youngest
rocks occur in the core of a fold (i.e. closest to the fold axis), whereas the old-
est rocks occur in the core of an anticline.

Types Of Folds

Anticline: Linear with dip away from the center

Syncline: Linear with dip twords the center
Monocline: Linear with dip in one direction between horizontal layers on each
side.
Basin: Non-Lineat with dip twoards all center directions.
Dome: Non-Linear with dip away from center in all directions.
Tectonic Movement

The tectonic movement of the Earth's plates has resulted in the folding
and faulting of the Earth's crust. This is caused by the Earth's plates con-
verging, diverging or transversing against one another. This causes the crust
of the Earth to buckle and strain, generating incredible amounts of pressure
that build up as time progresses and may conclude in the release of this en-
ergy.

The crust is divided into layers of materials that have been compressed
together. These layers are known as strata, laid down and composed of the
denudated material of pre-existing rocks. Folding and faulting are the result
of tectonic activity, but also the forces of tension, compression and shearing
play an active role in plate movements. An example of a landform created be-
cause of the effects of folding include Fold Mountains, such as the Himalayas,
while a Rift Valley, such as the East African Rift Valley, is formed from a
fault.

In folding, the Earth's crust is pulled and strained, resulting in a variety

of different features that can be commonly seen when examining a cliff face.
There are three parts of a fold: the anticline (high), the syncline (low) and the
limbs, commonly referred to as the "arms" of the folds. Folds can be divided
into several different types, such as a monocline, whereby the layers travel in
the same direction, a symmetrical fold, both arms have the same slope, a
asymmetrical fold, the slope of one arm is steeper than the other, and a over-
fold, whereby the arms have slightly overturned.

Fold mountains are the grand designs of folding and the mountains of
today's world date back to almost 450 million years ago, which are the Cale-
donian folding’s. The converging of the North American and the Eurasian
plate resulted in an intense folding period lasting about 50 years. Dublin/
Wicklow Mountains are an example of such folds. The most dominant fold-
ings that affected Munster are the Armorican folding’s, which shaped much of
the region.

About 270 million years ago, the Eurasian and African plates collided,
resulting in the buckling of the crust. Munster at this time was filled with an-
ticline hills and syncline valleys, which were filled with layers of sandstone,
shale and limestone and were compressed due to the strain.
 Over the millions of years, ranges such as the Caha Mountains and the
Comeragh's came to be. The buckling also resulted in the raising of a lime-
stone bed, which now resides in the midlands of Ireland as is known as the
Burren. Faulting is a process that occurs due to the intense strain on plates
that is endured by the folding of layers. The pressure of compression or ten-
sion results in a fracture to occur in the fold, which can form along a fault
line. Movement along this fault may be horizontal or vertical. Such an example
of a fault line is the San Andreas Fault Line in America.

There are three main types of faulting: normal faulting, reverse faulting
and tear faulting. They occur due to divergence, convergence and transverse
movement of plates respectively.

Rift valleys are found between two parallel normal faults on a part of land
known as a graben, a sunken part of the land so to speak. This occurs be-
cause the foothold block is upthrown while the hanging block is downthrown.
These are surrounded by block-mountains, also known as horsts which move
apart and increase the size of the valley. Rift valleys are distinguishable by the
sharp, declining sides. In conclusion, the movement of the Earth's plates re-
sults in the folding and faulting of the Earth's surface due to processes such
as compression, tension and shearing, and in doing so, deform and rearrange
the Earth's crust.
Application

1. How can your knowledge of compression/ tension forces and folds/faults

help you safely handle flexible/brittle materials in the future?

2. In what ways can the model you made earlier help predict whether folds or
faults may occur in the future?

Reflect
Earthquakes occur on faults - strike-slip earthquakes occur on strike-
slip faults, normal earthquakes occur on normal faults, and thrust earth-
quakes occur on thrust or reverse faults. When an earthquake occurs on one
of these faults, the rock on one side of the fault slips with respect to the oth-
er. The fault surface can be vertical, horizontal, or at some angle to the surface
of the earth. The slip direction can also be at any angle.

Now that you already have knowledge on the movement of plates which
leads to the formation of folds and faults on the crust of the Earth, how can
you relate the occurrence of earthquakes to this phenomenon?

Share your knowledge to your family members with enthusiasm.

Reinforcement & Enrichment

Read the article taken from the page of NASA. Be ready to explore the
history of the planet where you belong. Discuss the article with friends you
can connect with.

During the last Ice Age, advancing and retreating glaciers in northeastern
Canada scraped the surface clean of debris to help make visible some stun-
ning fold patterns in the basaltic rock. Those folds are still visible today and
appear in these images, which show part of a geologic belt called the New Que-
bec Orogen (also known as the Labrador Trough).
 February 13, 2020 ; NASA
The orogen stretches southeast from Ungava Bay through Quebec and
Labrador, with striking geologic features throughout. These images high-
light the deformation in Earth’s crust just east of the Caniapiscau River.
The images were acquired on February 13, 2020, by the Operational Land
 “The patterns shown in the images have quite a long history—from rifting
to cooling to folding—during continental collision,” said Deanne van Rooyen, a
geologist at Cape Breton University who has studied the region. About 2.17
billion years ago, she explained, molten rock erupted from rifts in Earth’s crust
and flooded the landscape with basalt. Successive flows of this so-called “flood
basalt” were laid down in nearly horizonal layers, producing the step-like pat-
tern visible in these images. When viewed up close, most flows show spectacu-
lar columnar jointing structures.

David Corrigan of the Geological Survey of Canada notes that the cliff
face of each flow (or series of flows) represents a step, each standing about 50
to 70 meters (160 to 230 feet) tall. Geologists often refer to geometry like this
as “traps”—the Dutch word for “step”—which can be found around the planet
in places like the Deccan Traps in India or the Siberian Traps in Russia. “I af-
fectionally name our example the ‘Labrador Traps,’” said Corrigan, who previ-
ously led a geological mapping project in the general area.
 The gentle folding of the traps came later with the collisions of cratons—
ancient, stable parts of Earth’s crust—with a microcontinent known as the
“Core Zone” sandwiched in between, Van Rooyen explained. The Core Zone col-
lided first with the North Atlantic Craton around 1.87 billion years ago, and
then collided (with the North Atlantic Craton attached) with the Superior Cra-
ton between about 1.80 billion years ago. This more recent collision initially
occurred head on, but became oblique as the North Atlantic Craton rotated.
The rotation caused Core Zone rocks to move down the side of the Superior
Craton, and the dragging of layered rock alongside the solid craton gave rise to
the folded patterns.

“These types of folds are not rare,” Corrigan said. “But in this case, they
are made spectacular by the nature of the rocks they fold. With a bit of ero-
sion, they become stair-shaped. If they are folded a bit, the stairs, or steps,
stand out.”

But the story does not end there. Sometime after the folds formed, the
rock became brittle and the continued motion began to produce linear breaks.
The offsets on either side of the cracks indicate movement along the faults. In
some places you can see where layers were dragged along the plane of the
fault, with the friction causing the folds to curve back toward the fault—an ef-
fect called “drag folding.”

Satellite images and field work have given scientists a good sense of the
region’s geology, but there are still plenty of questions to be investigated. “The
basic geology is well-mapped,” Van Rooyen said, “but there has been a lot of
new work in the area in the past decade by the Geological Survey of Canada as
part of their Geomapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) program, the New-
foundland and Labrador Geological Survey, the Quebec Ministry of Energy and
Natural Resources, and many university geologists like me.”

For example, the flood basalts provide a hint of what the chemical com-
position of the underlying mantle may have been 2.17 billion years ago,
providing key information on Earth’s evolution. Scientists also want to know
more about the timing of the evolution of the New Quebec Orogen, such as
when the different phases of collision happened. There are also questions
about the pressures and temperatures when the rocks formed, as well as
questions about the economic potential for the rocks to host gold, platinum, or
other important metals.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using topographic data from the Shuttle
Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story
by Kathryn Hansen.
 Assess Your Learning

Now that you have learned a lot from the lesson, write a short and sim-
ple paragraph explaining how folds and faults are formed on the Earth’s
crust. Include important details only.

References & Photo Credits

Folds and Faults: https://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/

content/investigations/es1106/es1106page01.cfm
Fault Images: https://www.google.com/search?
sxsrf=ALeKk03pS4vXyMogfn7Hwotqpi2gNdVXHg
Folds and Faults Activity: https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/
Documents/W336-A.pdf
Plate Tectonics: https://platetectonicsinfo.weebly.com/faults-and-folds.html
Tectonic Movement: https://rocogeog.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/folds-
and-faults.pdf
Graben and Horst Images: https://www.pinterest.ph/
pin/309974386832584186/?nic_v2=1a29XHQ6c
“Relationship of Faults and earthquakes: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-
relationship-between-faults-and-earthquakes-what-happens-a-fault-
when-earthquake-occurs?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-
news_science_products
Phenomenal Faults and Folds: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
images/146342/phenomenal-faults-and-folds
LESSON 2 : How Layers of Rocks (Stratified Rocks) Form

Ready to Launch!
Having reached this lesson, you are surely getting more curious about
our planet Earth. So what do we mean by stratified rocks? As we explore to-
gether our home planet, it is important to understand better how these
rocks formed. So let’s start with the term stratification.
Stratification, the layering that occurs in most sedimentary rocks and
in those igneous rocks formed at the Earth’s surface, as from lava flows and
volcanic fragmental deposits. The layers range from several millimetres to
many metres in thickness and vary greatly in shape. Strata may range from
thin sheets that cover many square kilometres to thick lenslike bodies that
extend only a few metres laterally.

Aim at the Target!

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Describe how layers of rocks (stratified rocks are formed)

Try This!
Instruction: Draw a star on the corresponding number you have written on
your paper if the given statement about rocks is a fact. Draw a triangle if oth-
erwise.
1.The word ‘igneous’ comes from the Latin word ‘ignis’ which means ‘of fire.’
2.Ores rocks have minerals with metals like gold and silver.
3.Sedimentary rocks form layers at the bottom of oceans and lakes.
4.Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone is exposed to high
heat and pressure within the Earth.
5.Layers of sedimentary rocks are called strata.
 Keep This in Mind!

Activity
Did you know that the history of life on Earth is told through rocks?
Over millions of years, sediments such as sand and silt were laid down and
compressed to form sedimentary rock layers. They preserve a record of an-
cient landscapes, climates, and organisms.
Scientists often determine the correct sequence of sedimentary rock
layers using the fossils found within them. They compare the fossils to fi
gure out if two layers are from the same geologic time period, or if one layer
is older than the other.
Instruction: Write your answers on your paper.
1. Photocopy and cut out the five strips of paper Each strip represents a
sedimentary rock layer formed during a certain time period.
2. Put the layers in correct order Begin by placing B, the “oldest layer,” on
the bottom. Then decide which layer comes next. It will have some of the
same organisms as the older layer and some new ones. (Hint: Organisms do
not disappear for a layer and then reappear.) Place it above. Continue until
the layers are in order, with the youngest at the top. Check your answers
and write the time period on each layer.
Alysis
1. Look at the fossils within each layer. What plants and animals lived
during the same time period?
2. Compare the layers to explore the changing plant and animal groups
throughout Earth’s history.
3. Which organisms survived from one time period to the next?
4. Which ones went extinct?
5. Could Tarbosaurus have hunted Seismosaurus?
6. What organisms survived the mass extinction at the end of the Creta-
ceous Period?

Order of layers from top to bottom: D (Quaternary Period, 2 million years ago to present), A
(Tertiary Period, 65-2 mya), Answers: C (Cretaceous Period, 145-65 mya), E (Jurassic Period,
200-145 mya), and B (Triassic Period, 250-200 mya)
Sedimentary Structures
Sedimentary structures are the larger, generally three-dimensional
physical features of sedimentary rocks; they are best seen in outcrop or in
large hand specimens rather than through a microscope.
Sedimentary structures include features like bedding, ripple
marks, fossil tracks and trails, and mud cracks. They conventionally are
subdivided into categories based on mode of genesis. Structures that are
produced at the same time as the sedimentary rock in which they occur
are called primary sedimentary structures. Examples include bedding or
stratification, graded bedding, and cross-bedding. Sedimentary structures
that are produced shortly after deposition and as a result
of compaction and desiccation are called penecontemporaneous sedimen-
tary structures. Examples include mud cracks and load casts. Still other
sedimentary structures like concretions, vein fillings, and stylolites form
well after deposition and penecontemporaneous modification; these are
known as secondary structures. Finally, others like stromatolites
and organic burrows and tracks, though they may in fact be primary, pen-
econtemporaneous, or even secondary, may be grouped as a fourth catego-
ry—organic sedimentary structures.
Considerable attention is paid to the sedimentary structures exhibit-
ed by any sedimentary rock. Primary sedimentary structures are particu-
larly useful because their abundance and size suggest the probable trans-
porting and depositional agents. Certain varieties of primary sedimentary
structures like cross-bedding and ripple marks display orientations that
are consistently related to the direction of current movement. Such struc-
tures are referred to as directional sedimentary structures because they
can be used to infer the ancient paleocurrent pattern or dispersal system
by which a sedimentary rock unit was deposited. Other sedimentary struc-
tures are stratigraphic “top and bottom” indicators. For example, the pro-
gressive upward decrease in clastic grain size diameters, known as graded
bedding, would allow a geologist to determine which way is stratigraphical-
ly “up”—i.e., toward the younger beds in a dipping sedimentary bed. The
suite (repeated sequence) of sedimentary structures in any single strati-
graphic unit is another attribute by which that unit may be physical-
ly differentiated from others in the region. Frederick L. Schwab
Abstraction and Generalization

Stratification

Stratification of sedimentary rock on the Rainbow Basin syncline near Barstow, Calif., U.S.

Mark A. Wilson (Department of Geology, The College of Wooster)

Planes of parting, or separation between individual rock layers, are

termed stratification planes. They are horizontal where sediments are depos-
ited as flat-lying layers, and they exhibit inclination where the depositional
site was a sloping surface. The bottom surface of a stratum roughly con-
forms to irregularities of the underlying surface; the stratification plane
above the stratum, however, tends to be nearly horizontal.
Stratification in sedimentary rocks may result from changes in texture
or composition during deposition; it also may result from pauses
in deposition that allow the older deposits to undergo changes before addi-
tional sediments cover them. A sequence of strata, therefore, may appear as
alternations of coarse and fine particles, as a series of colour changes re-
sulting from differences in mineral composition, or merely as layers of simi-
lar aspect separated by distinct planes of parting. No direct relationship ex-
ists between the thickness and extent of strata and the rate of deposition or
the time represented; for example, a stratum of limestone 2.5 cm (1 inch)
thick may take longer to form than a stratum of sandstone 3 m (10 feet) in
thickness.
 The most common cause of stratification is variation in the transporting
ability of the depositing agent. Water and wind sort sediments according to
size, weight, and shape of particles, and these sediments settle in layers of
relative homogeneity. Differences in sediment composition resulting from dif-
ferent sources, and variation in sediment brought about by change in agents
of deposition, also lead to stratification.
Where layers have been deformed, the record of past movements of the
Earth’s surface is preserved in the stratification, making possible the inter-
pretation of geologic events and permitting such practical results as the loca-
tion of mineral deposits, petroleum fields, and groundwater reservoirs.
Stratification in sedimentary rocks varies greatly both in degree of
prominence and in details of structure. In general, it is best developed in fine
-grained sediments and is least apparent and least persistent in coarse-
grained materials such as conglomerates. Two important and distinctive
structural types are recognized as characteristic of particular environments.
These are cross-bedding, which is common in fluvial or eolian deposits,
and graded bedding, which reflects transport by density (or turbidity) cur-
rents or, in certain cases, varved deposits.
Stratification in volcanic rocks differs in some respects from that in sed-
imentary rocks. Fragmental volcanic material becomes sorted in flight under
the influence of gravity, particle size, and wind. Falling to the ground, it may
form well-sorted layers. If it falls into lakes or the sea, it becomes layered like
any other waterborne detrital matter. Stratification also may result from suc-
cessive flows of liquid lava or alternations between flows and ashfalls.
Not all sedimentary deposits are stratified. Those transported by ice
alone, landslide deposits, and residual soils, for example, exhibit no stratifi-
cation. Original stratification may be destroyed by plants or animals, by re-
crystallization of limestones, or by other disturbances subsequent to deposi-
tion.
External stratification
Stratification (or bedding) is expressed by rock layers (units) of a gen-
eral tabular or lenticular form that differ in rock type or other characteristics
from the material with which they are interstratified (sometimes stated as
interbedded, or interlayered). These beds, or strata, are of varying thickness
and areal extent. The term stratum identifies a single bed, or unit, normally
greater than one centimetre in thickness and visibly separable from superja-
cent (overlying) and subjacent (underlying) beds. “Strata” refers to two or
more beds, and the term lamina is sometimes applied to a unit less than one
centimetre in thickness. Thus, lamination consists of thin units in bedded,
or layered, sequence in a natural rock succession, whereas stratification con-
sists of bedded layers, or strata, in a geologic sequence of interleaved sedi-
mentary rocks.
For most stratified sedimentary rocks, the arrangement of layers is one
of unequal thickness, ranging from very thin laminae to discrete beds that
measure a few to many metres in thickness. The terms thick and thin as ap-
plied to bedding, or stratification, are relative, reflecting the training of a par-
ticular geologist as well as experience with a specific stratigraphic section or
sections.
Bedding types and bedding-plane features
Types
It is common to discover a rhythmic pattern in a pile of stratified sedi-
mentary rocks represented by a repetitive sequence of rock types. In most
instances of such cyclic sedimentation, the bedding, or stratification, is hori-
zontal or essentially so; that is, the transporting, sorting, and depositing
agents of wind, running water, and lake and ocean currents and waves accu-
mulated the laminae and strata in a flat-lying or horizontal arrangement.
They are termed well-bedded, a type of primary stratification.
Primary stratification in sediments and sedimentary rocks can be cross-
bedded (cross-stratified), graded, and imbricate and can also display climb-
ing laminae, ripples, and beds.
 Graded bedding simply identifies strata that grade upward from coarse-
textured clastic sediment at their base to finer-textured materials at the top
(Figure 3). The stratification may be sharply marked so that one layer is set
off visibly from those above and beneath it. More commonly, however, the lay-
ers are blended. This variety of bedding results from a check in the velocity of
the transporting agent, and thus coarse-textured sediment (gravel, for exam-
ple) is deposited first, followed upward by pebbles, granules, sand, silt,
and clay. It is commonly associated with submarine density currents.

Figure 3: (A) Graded bedding. (B) Imbricate bedding.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Imbricate bedding is a shingle structure in a deposit of flattened or disk-

shaped pebbles or cobbles (Figure 3). That is to say, elongated and commonly
flattened pebbles and cobbles in gravelly sediment are deposited so that they
overlap one another like roofing shingles. Imbricate bedding forms where high
-velocity currents move over a streambed or where strong currents and waves
break over a gradually sloping beach, thereby forming beach shingle.
Growth structures in sedimentary rocks are in situ features that accu-
mulate largely as the result of organic buildups within otherwise horizontal or
nearly flat-lying strata. Reefs and stromatolites are two common varieties of
such growth structures.
Bedding-plane features
Upper surfaces of beds commonly display primary sedimentary features
that are classified as bedding-plane structures. A three-dimensional view may
be obtained if some of these can be seen from the side as well as from the top
of a pile of strata. They include such features as ripples (ripple marks), climb-
ing ripples, rills, pits, mud cracks, trails and tracks, salt and ice casts and
molds, and others. Bedding-plane markings and irregularities can
be allocated to one of three classes: (1) those on the base of a bed (load and
current structures and organic markings), (2) those within a bed (parting line-
ation), and (3) those on top of a bed (ripple marks, pits, impressions, mud
cracks, tracks and trails of organisms, and others).

Deformation structures
In addition to sedimentary structures that are normally associated with
bedding planes, there are other such structures that result from deformation
during or shortly after sedimentation but before induration of the sediment in-
to rock. These are nontectonic features—i.e., they are not bends and folds
brought about by metamorphism or other such causes. Deformation struc-
tures can be grouped into several classes, as follows: (1) founder and load
structures, (2) convoluted structures, (3) slump structures, (4) injection struc-
tures, such as sandstone dikes or sills, and (5) organic structures.
Structures found on the bottom of a bed are called sole markings, be-
cause they formed on the “sole” of the bed. Sole marks are commonly formed
on sandstone and limestone beds that rest upon shale beds. They are termed
casts, because they are fillings of depressions that formed on the surface of the
underlying mud. They originate (1) by unequal loading upon the soft and plas-
tic wet mud, (2) by the action of currents across the upper mud surface, or (3)
by the activities of organisms on this surface. Load casts form as the result of
downsinking of sandstone or limestone into the mud beneath. Current marks
can form by the action of water currents on upper surfaces of the beds or by
“tools” (such as wood and fossils) that are transported by currents over soft
sediment.
Sedimentary Environment
The sedimentary environment is the specific depositional setting of a
particular sedimentary rock and is unique in terms of physical, chemical,
and biological characteristics. The physical features of a sedimentary envi-
ronment include water depth and the velocity and persistence of currents.
Chemical characteristics of an environment include the salinity
(proportion of dissolved salts), acidity or basicity (pH), oxidation potential
(Eh), pressure, and temperature. The biological characteristics are mainly
the assemblage of fauna and flora that populate the setting. These condi-
tions, combined with the nature of the transporting agent and the source ar-
ea, largely determine the properties of the sediments deposited within the
environment. A number of ways of classifying deposition-
al environments exist, but most modern schemes employ a geomorphologic
approach. That is to say, an environment is defined in terms of a distinct ge-
omorphic unit or landform, modern examples of which are readily visible for
comparative purposes—e.g., a river delta, an alluvial fan, a submarine fan,
or the abyssal floor of an ocean basin.
 Reflect
1. Why do we need to learn and understand the rock stratification process?
2. How can you apply your knowledge about rock stratification on existing
natural landforms that you can see around you?
3. Has this lesson helped you understand your environment? In what way?

Reinforcement & Enrichment

Pick a natural landform you know in the Philippines. Do a research on
how this landform formed through a period of time. Show a picture and de-
scription of your chosen landform. Propose a theory how the landform you
have chosen came to its present appearance or condition.

Assess Your Learning

Instruction:
Answer the following questions based on your understanding of the les-
son. Write answers on your paper.
1. What is a strata?
2. How is it formed in rocks?
3. What are the major components of stratified rocks?
4. Which type of rock is often associated with stratified rocks? Why?
 References & Photo Credits
Stratification of Rocks: https://www.britannica.com/science/stratification-
geology
Rock Stratification: https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-
collections/dinosaurs-activities-and-lesson-plans/sedimentary-layers-
puzzle
Sedimentary Structure: https://www.britannica.com/science/sedimentary-
rock/Sedimentary-structures