Skip to main content
Geosciences LibreTexts

7: Sedimentary Minerals and Sedimentary Rocks

  • Page ID
    17516
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Key Concepts
    • Weathering involves the decomposition and breaking apart of rocks at Earth’s surface.
    • Weathering produces solid clastic material and dissolved chemical material.
    • Products of weathering may be transported and deposited to produce clastic or chemical sediments.
    • Sediments of all sorts may be lithified to become rocks.
    • Clastic material typically comprises quartz and clays; less commonly other minerals.
    • Minerals produced by chemical precipitation include clays, carbonates, sulfates, halides, zeolites, and chert.
    • We name clastic sedimentary rocks based primarily on clast size.
    • We name chemical sedimentary rocks based primarily on composition.
    7.1.png
    Figure 7.1: Salt deposits on the shore of the Dead Sea, Jordan


    This page titled 7: Sedimentary Minerals and Sedimentary Rocks is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Dexter Perkins via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

    • Was this article helpful?