Sedimentary Rocks

• Sediment vs. Sedimentary Rocks (lithification)
• Clastic (or Detrital) vs. Chemical Sediments
• Grain size and sorting (measure of deposition environment)
• Grain shape and type (measure of maturity)

Detrital Rocks

• Lithification driven by compaction and cementation
• Gravel: >2 mm Breccia or Conglomerate
• Sand: 0.06 to 2 mm Sandstone
• Silt: 0.004 to 0.06 mm Shale
• Clay: < 0.004 mm Shale

Chemical Sediments

• Inorganic vs. Organic
• Limestone
• Evaporites, e.g. halite and gypsum
• Chert

Sedimentary Structures

• Reveal depositional environment
• e.g. Bedding = depositional event
• e.g. Graded Bedding = mass deposition
• e.g. Cross Bedding = deposition from currents