2009 Allan Ludman and Stephen Marshak W.W.

Norton & Company

CHAPTER 6 USING SEDIMENTARY ROCKS TO INTERPRET EARTH HISTORY

PURPOSE To become familiar with sedimentary rock textures and mineral assemblages To learn how to use sedimentary rocks to interpret ancient geologic, geographic, and environmental settings. MATERIALS NEEDED A set of sedimentary rocks. A magnifying glass or hand lens and a microscope and thin sections of sedimentary rocks. Standard supplies for identifying minerals (streak plate, glass plate, etc.) 6.1 INTRODUCTION The story of igneous rocks begins deep in the Earth and gives geologists important information about conditions and processes of a part of our planet that we are unable to visit or even drill to. In contrast, the story of sedimentary rock is largely written at the surface and tells of ancient processes, conditions, and the animals and plants that lived there. For example, sedimentary rocks tell us that North America was very different in the past:
50,000 years ago, a continental ice sheet extended as far south as the Ohio River before melting only 10-15,000 years ago. At that time, the northern United States looked like Antarctica or Greenland. at about 60 million years ago (Ma), the ancestral Rocky Mountains were nearly as high as the Himalayas are today; the Great Plains were forming as a blanket of sediment eroded from the Rockies; log onto Google Earth or World Wind to see the Himalayas today, and the blanket of sediment shed southward into Bangladesh from the mountains. at 340 Ma the mid-continent was covered by a shallow-water inland sea. 420 Ma, the east coast was oriented E-W and was located close to the equator. For a comparable modern environment, log onto Google Earth or World Wind to look at the Bahamas or the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

6.2: FORMATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Sedimentary rocks form when igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks exposed to physical and chemical weathering at Earths surface break down, the resulting sediment is transported away and

deposited somewhere else, and the sediment is converted to a new sedimentary rock (Figure 6.1) When geologists study sedimentary rocks we want to know What kind(s) of rock(s) were weathered? What 1

kind of weathering made the sediment? What agent of erosion transported the sediment, and how far? How was the sediment deposited and converted to solid rock? And what were the climatic, topographic, and tectonic conditions under which these processes operated? As with igneous rocks, the answers are found in the mineralogy and texture of sedimentary rocks formation of sedimentary rocks.
Figure 6.1: Steps in the formation of sedimentary rocks
WEATHERING (Type of sediment) TRANSPORTATION DEPOSITION LITHIFICATION TYPE OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

CLASTS (Mineral grains, rock fragments)

Streams, wind, ice, shoreline currents

Gravity causes clasts to settle

Clasts are compacted or cemented

CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCK (e.g. sandstone)

Physical weathering (disaggregation) Source rock Chemical weathering (decomposition) Precipitated crystals are compacted or cemented CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY ROCK (e.g. rock salt)

DISSOLVED IONS Ions absorbed by plants and animals which eventually die

Ions dissolved in streams, ground water, seawater

Chemical precipitation

ORGANIC DEBRIS

Streams, ice, shoreline currents

Gravity causes clasts to settle

Organic remains are compacted or cemented

BIOGENIC SEDIMENTARY ROCK (e.g. chalk)

To interpret the history of a sedimentary rock, we need to know how each of these steps can affect sedimentary mineralogy and texture. There are three types of sedimentary rock, based on the nature of the particles they contain and the processes by which they were brought together (Figure 6.1). Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of grains broken physically from previously existing rocks, transported and deposited physically. Chemical sedimentary rocks contain ions dissolved from the source rocks, transported chemically in solution, and precipitated from the water by chemical or biochemical processes. Biogenic sedimentary rocks are composed largely of plant and animal remains. 2

6.2.1 Sedimentary rocks: the roles of source rock and weathering The minerals in a sedimentary rock depend on the mineralogy of the source rock(s) and the type and extent of weathering to which they were exposed. Your textbook describes the processes of physical and chemical weathering in detail so we need only look here at how they affect sediment texture and mineralogy. Physical weathering is like hitting a rock with a hammer: it breaks first into chunks and then into smaller pieces but no minerals disappear and no new ones form. The pieces are called clasts, from the Greek word meaning to break, hence the term clastic sedimentary rocks. Physical weathering first produces fragments that preserve the grain sizes, shapes, and relationships of the parent rocks. More intense physical weathering breaks the fragments into smaller pieces and eventually minerals separate from one another, destroying the original texture. As physical weathering progresses, it becomes impossible to tell whether the original rock was coarse or fine grained, or whether the grains interlocked or were cemented together (Figure 6.2).
Figure 6.2 Physical weathering of coarse-grained granite

a. Rock will break along the dashed lines

b. Rock fragment preserves grain sizes and relationships

c. Fragment breaks into combination of mineral grains and smaller rock fragments

Chemical weathering destroys some minerals and creates others through chemical reactions among rocks, the atmosphere, water, and organic acids. Minerals that are not stable at the surface are destroyed and new ones created that are. For example, feldspars weather to clay minerals and their potassium (potassic feldspar) or calcium and sodium (plagioclase feldspar) ions are dissolved and carried away by water. Ferromagnesian minerals (olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite) are converted to

hematite and limonite and their silicon and oxygen are dissolved. In general, minerals formed at high temperatures and pressures are most susceptible to chemical weathering. Those formed at conditions closest to those of the surface are more resistant. Chemical weathering generally reduces the number of minerals to a few that are stable at the surface. As a result, weathering of different source rocks can yield surprisingly similar sediment mineral assemblages (Figure 6.3). For example, clay minerals and iron oxides are principal weathering products of both granite and gabbro. Only their proportions (more iron oxides in the weathered gabbro) and possible residual quartz from the granite would distinguish the two. The clay and remaining resistant minerals are then transported, deposited, and lithified to form clastic sedimentary rocks. The dissolved ions precipitate to form chemical and biogenic sedimentary rocks, or to cement clasts together.
Figure 6.3 Chemical weathering of felsic and mafic igneous rocks Weathering products in both cases include clay minerals and iron oxides.
Na-plagioclase clay minerals + dissolved Na+ ions clay minerals + dissolved K+ ions Quartz clasts

a. b. c. d. e. a. a. Granite: weathers to clay minerals, limonite, hematite, and quartz, dissolved potassium, sodium, and silica
Ca-Na plagioclase Pyroxene I clay minerals + dissolved Na+ and Ca++ ions limonite, hematite + dissolved silica Potassic feldspar

Quartz remains unchanged Hornblende Biotite

limonite, hematite + dissolved silica limonite, hematite + dissolved silica

Pyroxene II

limonite, hematite + dissolved Ca++ ions and silica

b. Gabbro: weathers to clay minerals, limonite, and hematite with dissolved calcium, sodium, and silica

6.3: MINERALOGY OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS The mineralogy of chemical and biogenic sedimentary rocks depends on what ions precipitated from solution or were incorporated in organic tissue. Common chemical or biochemical minerals include halite, gypsum, calcite, dolomite, apatite, and quartz. Some rocks are made entirely of these precipitates, but many rocks are a combination of clastic, chemical, and biogenic material. The mineralogy of clastic sedimentary rocks depends on the minerals in the source rocks and the degree of chemical weathering. For example, thorough chemical weathering of granite would leave only quartz and clay minerals, whereas incomplete chemical weathering might leave potassic and sodic feldspar grains and even some hornblende or biotite in addition to quartz and clay. Sediments composed of only the most resistant mineral grains are said to be mineralogically mature because they have experienced the complete chemical breakdown of the less resistant minerals. Immature sediments occur when there isnt enough time for complete chemical weathering and therefore contain a mixture of resistant minerals and those that weather easily. Very immature sediments contain recognizable fragments of the source rocks indicating that erosion and deposition of these rocks were so rapid that neither physical nor chemical weathering had a chance to operate fully.
EXERCISE 6.1 INTERPRETING WEATHERING HISTORY RECORDED BY CLASTS IN A SEDIMENTARY ROCK What weathering histories could account for each of the following mineral assemblages found in clastic sedimentary rocks? Think broadly. There may be more than one possible explanation for a rock whose clasts are: a. all quartz grains.

b. nearly equal amounts of quartz, potassic feldspar, and sodic plagioclase with a small amount of hematite.

c. all fine-grained clay minerals with some hematite and limonite

d. a mixture of quartz grains and clay minerals

e. rock fragments composed of calcic plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene

d. Which of the above rocks are mineralogically mature? Which are immature?

Why was weathering so different in the rocks in Exercise 6.1? Were different source rocks involved in each case? Or different climates tropical rain forest vs desert? Was the climate the same but were clasts eroded in some cases before chemical weathering could change them? In most instances, the answers are in a sedimentary rocks texture or relationships with other rocks.
EXERCISE 6.2: ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS OF MINERAL MATURITY What factors control the mineralogic maturity of sediment (and how do they do so) in: a. a tropical rain forest

b. a desert

c. a temperate climate

6.4 LITHIFICATION Piles of unconsolidated sediment become sedimentary rock when clasts are compacted or cemented together. Those of us who have made mudballs are familiar with compaction. Squeeze a handful of wet mud between your hands; the water oozes out and the mud sticks together. The weight of

hundreds or thousands of feet of overlying sediment is a very effective compactor responsible for lithifying many clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks. Others are lithfied by minerals that precipitate from water passing through the unconsolidated sediment. Although most of the rock is clastic, lithification was accomplished by cementation as minerals like quartz, calcite, hematite, and limonite precipitated in pores between grains. Color can help identify the cement: red-pink suggests hematite, brown or yellow-brown limonite limonite. A drop of dilute HCl can identify calcite cement but be sure the cement that is fizzing, not the clasts. In some cases, the cement or finer-grained clastic matrix that holds the clasts together reveals the depositional environment. For example, the formation of a hematite cement requires oxygen, so clastic rocks cemented by hematite must have been exposed to oxygenpresumably on the surface in a river floodplain or similar setting, rather than in a deep marine environment. In contrast, black, sooty sedimentary rocks containing large amounts of carbon or pyrite cubes indicate environments low in oxygen.Had oxygen been present, the carbon would have been destroyed by oxidation and the pyrite would have been converted to a sulfate or dissolved. A deep marine or swamp setting is suggested. 6.5: SEDIMENTARY ROCK TEXTURES As with igneous rocks, textures provide important information about the evolution of sedimentary rocks and help distinguish chemical, biogenic, and clastic types. We will focus on the textures of clastic rocks because they provide insight into the sedimentary rock-forming steps. 6.5.1 Clastic Textures: effects of transportation and deposition: In a clastic texture grains are cemented or compacted together. The size and shape of the clasts are clues to the agent that transported them. 6.5.1a Grain size: Clasts in sedimentary rocks range from the size of a house to grains so small they cant be seen even with a microscope. We use familiar words like sand and pebble to define clast size,

and the precise meaning of those terms is shown in Figure 6.4. You dont have to use a ruler to measure the smaller clasts. If individual grains are visible with a hand lens, the clasts are at least sand-sized. If you cant see grains, rub the rock (gently!) across your teeth. If the rock feels gritty, the grains are siltsized; if smooth, they are mud-sized. The word clay is sometimes used instead of mud as a size term but this can cause confusion because clay is also a family of minerals. To avoid confusion, we will use mud for the smallest clastic grain size.
Figure 6.4 Clast size terminology (The Wentworth Scale)
Grains too small to be seen

Boulder Cobble 256 mm 64 mm

Pebble 2 mm

Sand

Silt .06 mm

Mud Grain size term <.004 mm

The more kinetic energy an erosional agent has, the bigger the clasts it can move. Glaciers have more kinetic energy than streams and streams more than wind. Very few natural processes can carry the house-sized boulders mentioned above. Glaciers are the most common but, as happens commonly in geology, there are other possibilities, including landslides and volcanic mudflows. Streams can move things as large as small boulders but wind cant move clasts much larger than the period at the end of this sentence. This helps to narrow possibilities of the transporting agent: a rock containing pebbles could not have been windblown and huge boulders could not have been moved by streams. 6.5.1.b Sorting measures the uniformity of grain size in a clastic rock (Figure 6.5), and is more useful than size alone in identifying the transporting agent. Aeolian (wind-deposited) sediment is very well sorted because wind can only pick up clasts in a narrow size range. Streams can carry clasts ranging from mud- to boulder-sized, but they generally deposit their sediment gradually. As a streams kinetic energy wanes, the coarsest grains are deposited first but the finest grains can still be moved. This produces moderately well-sorted clasts, but not nearly as well-sorted as wind deposits. Glaciers not only

have enormous kinetic energy but are also solid. They carry clasts of all sizes and deposit them together when the ice melts. As a result, glacial deposits are very poorly sorted.
Figure 6.5 Sorting in sedimentary rocks

a. Relatively good sorting

b. Poor sorting

6.5.1c Grain shape Roundness vs Angularity: The roundness of clasts is a clue to the agent and distance of transportation. Clasts carried by water or wind collide frequently with one another as they move. The collisions knock off sharp corners and edges, eventually rounding the clasts. In general, the farther streams and wind carry clasts, the more spherical the grains become. The clasts also become smaller as a result of these collisions. Clasts in a glacier are frozen into position and thus cant collide with one another. They retain their original shapes generally more angular than stream or wind deposits. Figure 6.6 shows different degrees of roundness in two sedimentary rocks. The factors controlling grain size and shape are as complex as those determining mineral maturity, but it is possible in many cases to determine the agent of transportation of clasts in a sedimentary rock from a combination of its textural features. Exercise 6.3 reviews clastic textures and the major agents that produce them.

Figure 6.6 Degree of grain roundness in clastic sedimentary rocks

2 cm 1 cm

a. A clastic sedimentary rock with rounded grains

b. A clastic sedimentary rock with angular grains

EXERCISE 6.3 RECOGNIZING SEDIMENT DEPOSITED BY STREAMS, WIND, AND GLACIERS Fill in the following table to summarize the characteristics of sediment deposited by the different continental agents of erosion. Agent of transportation: Textural feature

Streams

Wind

Glaciers

Grain size

Sorting

Grain shape

6.5.2 Textures of Chemical Sedimentary Rocks: Ions dissolved in chemical weathering are transported by solution in water. They are also deposited chemically, precipitating when water evaporates, chemical changes cause the ions to precipitate, or they are absorbed by organisms. Figure 6.7 shows textures found in chemical sedimentary rocks In Exercise 6.4 you will bring about chemical precipitation in two different ways and produce both types of texture.

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Figure 6.7 Textures of chemical sedimentary rocks

1 cm 3 cm

a. Coarse, interlocking halite grains

b. Cryptocrystalline silica grains (chert) Note almost glassy appearance and conchoidal fracture

Crystals grow from water to form chemical sedimentary rocks and from molten magma to form igneous rocks. The interlocking textures that result can be similar even though the liquids are so different.
EXERCISE 6.4 SIMULATING CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY TEXTURES a. Place a beaker with seawater (or make some salt water) on a hotplate and heat it gently until the water evaporates. b. Partially fill a second beaker with a clear, concentrated solution of calcium hydroxide (CaOH2). Using a straw, blow gently into the solution until you notice a change. Describe what happened in each demonstration, and sketch the resulting textures. a. b.

c. Compare the texture in (a) with that of a granite. What is it about the growth of crystals from liquids that causes the similarities?

d. Based on texture alone, which rocks in your sedimentary collection might be chemical sedimentary rocks?

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6.6 SEDIMENTARY ROCK CLASSFICATION Table 6.2 is a simplified classification scheme for sedimentary rocks based on texture and mineralogy. First use texture to determine whether the rock is dominantly clastic, chemical, or biogenic origin (Figure 6.8), then look in the appropriate part of Table 6.2 to identify the rock and enter the information in the sedimentary rock data sheets at the end of the chapter.
Figure 6.8 Flow chart for identifying type of sedimentary rock

Interlocking sedimentary minerals

CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY ROCK

Table 6.2B

Grains cemented together or set in fine-grained matrix

CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCK

Table 6.2A

Grains are mostly organic remains (shells, bones, etc.

BIOGENIC SEDIMENTARY ROCK

Table 6.2C

Many sedimentary rocks will fall into one of the three categories. Coal, for example, composed of plant remains, is entirely biogenic, as is chalk (composed of microscopic shells). Rock salt is entirely chemical. A rock composed of sand grains embedded in a clay matrix is clastic. But many sedimentary rocks contain all three components. For example, a chemically cemented sandstone. Or a chemically precipitated limestone containing shell fragments. Or rock salt with some sand grain impurities.
EXERCISE 6.5 IDENTIFYING SEDIMENTARY ROCKS Examine the rock samples in your sets that you classified as sedimentary rocks. Fill in the rock study sheets at the end of this chapter to identify each sample and interpret its history.

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Table 6.2 Classification of sedimentary rocks A) Clastic rocks (individual grains set in cement or matrix) Grain size Grain How to Grain Shape Compositional modifiers name Size (mm) tell Rounded Angular Quartz clasts Quartz+Feldspar Clasts mixed Clasts with mud matrix Gravel >2 measure Conglomerat Breccia Quartzose Arkosic Grains Quartzose Arkosic (quartzwacke, Sand 1/162 visible (Orthoquartzite (or just arkose) arkosic wacke Sandstone graywacke) Feels Too fine grained to determine mineral content Silt 1/256-1/16 gritty on Siltstone the teeth Feels Mudstone Too fine grained to determine mineral content Mud <1/256 smooth on (Shale if rock breaks the teeth along parallel planes) B)Chemical sedimentary rocks (chemical precipitates, either coarse or fine grained) Mineral Texture Visible interlocking crystals No visible crystals Halite (NaCl) Rock salt Gypsum (CaSO42H2O) Satin spar or rock gypsum Alabaster Calcite (CaCO3) Crystalline limestone Micrite (micritic limestone)* Dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2] Crystalline dolostone Dolomicrite* Quartz (SiO2) Microcrystalline, conchoidal fracture, scratches glass: chert or flint Calcite (CaCO3) Rock contains concentrically layered calcite spheres: oolitic limestone * Micrite and dolomicrite may result from biochemical processes or contain microscopic fossil remains C) Biogenic sedimentary rocks (composed predominantly of organic remains) Texture and other properties Rock Name Very fine-grained mass of siliceous shells of microscopic organisms; doe Diatomite not react with hydrochloric acid Very fine-grained mass of calcareous shells of microscopic organisms; re Chalk strongly with hydrochloric acid Open framework of broken shell fragments cemented together; reacts Coquina strongly with hydrochloric acid Fossils and fossil fragments in a calcareous matrix; reacts Fossiliferous limestone strongly with hydrochloric acid Fossils and fossil fragments in a non-calcareous matrix; Fossiliferous mudstone, does not react with hydrochloric acid siltstone, or sandstone (depending on size of matrix grains) Soft, loose interlocking framework of brown, partially decayed woody m Peat Moderately hard dark brown to black decomposed material in which som Lignite woody fragments are still visible Hard black mass of decomposed plant material in which woody fragmen Bituminous Coal are not generally preserved; relatively low specific gravity Coal Limestone

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6.7 SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES: CLUES TO PALEO-ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS Gravity causes all types of sediment to settle to the floor of the basin in which they are deposited. Over time, layers of sediment (called beds) accumulate, ranging from a millimeter to several meters thick depending on the process involved. Each bed represents a single depositional event and the different colors, grain sizes and types of sediment from each event tell one bed from another(Figure 6.9). Beds can range widely in thickness, from several meters to a millimeter.
Figure 6.9 Sedimentary rock beds

a. Horizontal beds of sandstone and siltstone in the Painted Desert, Arizona. White, dark red and light red beds contain different amounts of hematite cement.

b. Horizontal beds of sandstones, siltstones, and limestones in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Beds are distinguished by differential resistance to weathering as well as color.

Many beds are homogeneous, with uniform color, mineralogy, and texture, but some show variations called sedimentary structures within the bed or on its surface that provide important information about the rocks history. Several sedimentary structures are found in beds that are not homogeneous, including graded bedding, ripplemarks, and cross-bedding. 6.7.1 Graded beds form when poorly sorted sediment is deposited in water. The coarsest grains settle to the bottom of the bed first while finer materials remain in suspension longer. The result is a gradual decrease in grain size from the base of the bed toward the top (Figure 6.10), a phenomenon useful in deciphering the history of folded or tilted sedimentary rocks. To make a graded bed, put water, sand, silt, and gravel in a jar or graduated cylinder. Shake to mix thoroughly and watch as the grains settle.

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Figure 6.10 Graded bedding

Top Bottom

Mud-sized grains (dark gray to black) Silt and mud grains (medium gray) Sand-sized grains (light gray)

6.7.2 Ripple marks form when sand grains are deposited by air or water currents. Small ripple marks are shown in Figure 6.11; larger ones (sand dunes) are common in arid regions and coastlines. Some ripple marks have systematically oriented steep and gentle sides (Figure 6.11a). These asymmetric ripple marks are produced by a current that flowed from the gentle side toward the steep side. Symmetric ripple marks (Figure 6.11b) have steep slopes on both sides, and form from oscillating currents.
Figure 6.11 Ripplemarks
Steep side Gentle side

a. Asymmetric ripplemarks in modern sand. The arrow indicates direction of the current that formed the ripples

b. Symmetric ripplemarks in ancient sandstone. Note equally steep slopes on both sides of the ripples.

6.7.3 Cross-bedding forms in ripple marks, and other settings where clasts moving in a current are deposited in inclined layers (Figure 6.12a).

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Figure 6.12 Cross-bedding

a. Sand grains are deposited in inclined layers on the down-current side of a ripple. As beds accumulate, changes in wind or water direction are indicated by the slope of the cross-beds. b. Large-scale cross-bedding in sandstones, preserving ancient sand dunes in Zion National Park, Utah.

6.7.4 Mud cracks form when very fine-grained clay-rich sediment dries out. The mud shrinks as the water evaporates and cohesion between clay grains produces polygonal shrinkage cracks. Sand deposited above the mud layer fills the cracks and preserves them (Figure 6.13).
Figure 6.13 Formation of mudcracks
a. Mud cracks in modern sediment b. Mud cracks preserved in a 180,000,000 year-old mudstone

6.7.5 Impressions on bedding planes: Moving objects can leave impressions on unconsolidated sediment before the bed hardens (Figure 6.14). The imprints of these objects can, in some instances, provide fascinating glimpses of animals living in the sediment or processes acting on it. Imprints may 16

be made by raindrops falling on a muddy floodplain, logs dragged by currents along the bottom of a stream, worms crawling along the sea floor in search of food, and the footprints of animals walking through a forest.
Figure 6.14 Examples of impressions on bedding planes

a. Casts of footprints made by a small dinosaur. The original footprint was filled with sand. This specimen was turned over to reveal the footprints.

b. Raindrop impressions in siltstone.

6.7.6 Fossils: Fossils are the remains or traces of animals and plants that are preserved in rocks. Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks because the environments in which sedimentary rock-forming processes occur are the same as those in which the animals and plants lived. Most soft-bodied organisms are not preserved because they decay after death, and even organisms with hard parts like shells and bones are destroyed by weathering, transportation, deposition, and lithification. What is preserved can be remarkable, from the sturdiest dinosaur skeleton to incredibly fragile feathers (Figure 6.15) Fossils help geologists understand how life on Earth has changed over geologic time and, as you will see later, some fossils can tell when in that span their rocks formed. Fossils can also reveal the geographic setting and climate in which the enclosing sedimentary rocks formed. According to the Principle of Uniformitarianism, rocks containing fossil corals probably formed in warm, clear seawater; 17

Figure 6.15 Fossils reveal remarkable details of life throughout geologic time a. Relatively fragile organisms

Fish from Green River shale, Wyoming

Feather

Starfish

Insect preserved in amber

Leaves

b. Relatively robust organisms

Thick-shelled brachiopod (looks like but not the same as modern clams) Tree trunk Triceratops

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rocks with fossils of tropical plants probably werent deposited near the North or South Poles; rocks containing
Tyrannosaurus bones probably formed on land rather than in the deep ocean; rocks containing fossil starfish formed in the oceans, not on land. Fossils that can be linked to specific environments are called facies fossils.

EXERCISE 6.6 INTERPRETING ROCK HISTORY FROM SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES Each sedimentary structure tells something about the environment of deposition. What can you deduce about the geographic setting, climate, and depositional environment of following? 1. Medium grained sandstone containing fragments of tree trunks, branches, and leaves.

2. Very fine-grained limestone with fragments of coral.

3. Hematite-cemented mudstone and sandstone containing dinosaur footprints, raindrop impressions, and mudcracks.

4. Black shale containing small pyrite cubes

5. Sandstone with oscillating ripple marks and fossil crabs.

6. What can you deduce about the history of sedimentary rocks containing one of the fossils shown in Figure 6.15? a. Fish b. Feather c. Starfish d. Insect e. Leaves f. Brachiopod

g. Tree trunk h. Triceratops

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SEDIMENTARY ROCK STUDY SHEET

Components Clastic, Chemical, Biogenic CL CH BIO Minerals Present (Approximate %) Name of sedimentary rock Rock History (transporting agent, Environment, etc.)

Name _______________________________

Sample #

Texture (Grain size, shape sorting)

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SEDIMENTARY ROCK STUDY SHEET

Components Clastic, Chemical, Biogenic CL CH BIO Minerals Present (Approximate %) Name of sedimentary rock Rock History (transporting agent, Environment, etc.)

Name _______________________________

Sample #

Texture (Grain size, shape sorting)

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