GEOL 1601 Chapter : Sedimentary Rock
Document Summary
Introduction: sedimentary rocks form from sediment that accumulates on the earth"s surface, sedimentary rocks cover most of the earth"s surface. They contain most of the oil and gas in the world, and coal is a sedimentary rock. The solid particles and ions in solution freed by this action are carried by water, wind, or glaciers from their source to the basin of deposition. Ions: atoms or molecules with an electrical charge: basin of deposition: where the solid particles and ions in solution are deposited. These reactions also produce new minerals and release nonreactive ones from the rock. To make scienti c communication precise, geologists have assigned speci c grain sizes to familiar words for sediments: gravel: > 2mm, pebbles: 4 64mm, granules: 2 4mm, coarse sand: 0. 5 2mm, medium sand: 0. 25 0. 5mm. These terms describe the overall roundness of sedimentary grains:
