4.8: Sedimentary Rocks
- Page ID
- 12789
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Sandstone is one of the common types of sedimentary rocks that form from sediments. There are many other types. Sediments may include:
- fragments of other rocks that often have been worn down into small pieces, such as sand, silt, or clay.
- organic materials, or the remains of once-living organisms.
- chemical precipitates, which are materials that get left behind after the water evaporates from a solution.
Rocks at the surface undergo mechanical and chemical weathering. These physical and chemical processes break rock into smaller pieces. Physical weathering simply breaks the rocks apart. Chemical weathering dissolves the less stable minerals. These original elements of the minerals end up in solution and new minerals may form. Sediments are removed and transported by water, wind, ice, or gravity in a process called erosion.
Streams carry huge amounts of sediment. The more energy the water has, the larger the particle it can carry. A rushing river on a steep slope might be able to carry boulders. As this stream slows down, it no longer has the energy to carry large sediments and will drop them. A slower moving stream will only carry smaller particles.
Sediments are deposited on beaches and deserts, at the bottom of oceans, and in lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, and swamps. Avalanches drop large piles of sediment. Glaciers leave large piles of sediments, too. Wind can only transport sand and smaller particles. The type of sediment that is deposited will determine the type of sedimentary rock that can form. Different colors of sedimentary rock are determined by the environment where they are deposited. Red rocks form where oxygen is present. Darker sediments form when the environment is oxygen poor.
Sedimentary Rock Formation
Accumulated sediments harden into rock by a process called lithification. Two important steps are needed for sediments to lithify.
- Sediments are squeezed together by the weight of overlying sediments on top of them. This is called compaction. Cemented, non-organic sediments become clastic rocks. If organic material is included, they are bioclastic rocks.
- Fluids fill in the spaces between the loose particles of sediment and crystallize to create a rock by cementation.
When sediments settle out of calmer water, they form horizontal layers. One layer is deposited first, and another layer is deposited on top of it. So each layer is younger than the layer beneath it. When the sediments harden, the layers are preserved. Sedimentary rocks formed by the crystallization of chemical precipitates are called chemical sedimentary rocks.
Biochemical sedimentary rocks form in the ocean or a salt lake. Living creatures remove ions, such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, from the water to make shells or soft tissue. When the organism dies, it sinks to the ocean floor to become a biochemical sediment, which may then become compacted and cemented into solid rock.
Human Use of Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rocks are used as building stones, although they are not as hard as igneous or metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks are used in construction. Sand and gravel are used to make concrete; they are also used in asphalt. Many economically valuable resources come from sedimentary rocks. Iron ore and aluminum are two examples.
- Dynamic Earth: Introduction to Physical Geography. Authored by: R. Adam Dastrup. Located at: http://www.opengeography.org/physical-geography.html. Project: Open Geography Education. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Lower antelope 2. Authored by: Moondigger. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lower_antelope_2_md.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- Lower antelope 3. Authored by: Moondigger. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lower_antelope_3_md.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike