Sedimentary Rocks: Rocks Made of Bits & Pieces of Other Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks: Rocks Made of Bits & Pieces of Other Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks: Rocks Made of Bits & Pieces of Other Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous rocks are the most common rocks on Earth, but because most of them exist below the surface you might not have seen too many of them. 75 percent of the rocks exposed at the surface are sedimentary rocks.
What is sediment?
Sediments are loose materials such as rock fragments, mineral grains, and bits of shell that have been moved by wind, water, ice, or gravity. Sediments come from already-existing rocks that are weathered and eroded. Sedimentary rock forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Stacked Rocks
Sedimentary rocks often form as layers.
The older layers are on the bottom because they were deposited first. Sometimes, forces within Earth overturn layers of rock, and the oldest are no longer on the bottom.
Sediments come from weathered and eroded igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Sediments also come from the remains of some organisms.
The composition of a sedimentary rock depends upon the composition of the sediments from which it formed.
Sedimentary rocks are classified by their composition and by the manner in which they formed. The three types of sedimentary rocks are
Detrital Chemical Organic.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
Chemical
Organic
Detrital sedimentary rocks are made from the broken fragments of other rocks.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Organic
Weathering & Erosion helps to get the materials to make detrital sedimentary rocks.
When rock is exposed to air, water, or ice, it breaks down chemically and mechanically. This process, which breaks rocks into smaller pieces, is called weathering.
The movement of weathered material is called erosion.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Organic
weathering
erosion
If the sediments are small, they can stick together and form solid rock. This process is called compaction.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
compaction
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Organic
weathering
erosion
As water moves through soil and rock, it picks up materials released from minerals during weathering. The resulting solution of water and dissolved materials moves through open spaces between sediments.
according to the shapes and sizes of the sediments that form them. Conglomerate and breccia both form from large sediments.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
compaction Examples: Sandstone & conglomerate cementation
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Organic
weathering
erosion
Chemical sedimentary rocks form when dissolved minerals come out of solution. Minerals collect when seas or lakes evaporate. The deposits of minerals that come out of solution form sediments and rocks.
Chemical sedimentary rocks are not made from pieces of preexisting rocks.
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
compaction
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Dissolved minerals come out of solution
Organic
cementation
weathering
erosion
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
compaction
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Dissolved minerals come out of solution
Organic
cementation
limestone
Halite
weathering
erosion
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
compaction
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Dissolved minerals come out of solution
Organic
Made of the remains of once living things
cementation
limestone
Halite
weathering
erosion
forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
Detrital
compaction
Broken fragments of other rocks
Chemical
Dissolved minerals come out of solution
Organic
Made of the remains of once living things
cementation
limestone
Halite
chalk
coal
weathering
erosion