Chapter 5: SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

5.1 What is a sedimentary rock?

Sedimentary rocks - products of mechanical and chemical weathering.
Weathering processes form sediment from solid minerals and dissolved ions.

• Clastic sediment: solid mineral particles that are left behind after weathering, e.g. physically
weathered parts of original rock or minerals (e.g., clays) that form by chemical weathering. Quartz
and clay are the most abundant clastic materials.
• Chemical sediment: dissolved ions eventually precipitate into solid minerals. Ionic (dissolved)
sediment forms ionically bonded minerals (e.g., halite, calcite). Occurs both in water bodies
(oceans, lakes) and in pore spaces between other mineral grains.

Minerals vary in susceptibility to weathering: bond type (ionic = weaker vs. covalent = stronger)
Contain evidence of past environments e.g. provide information about sediment transport and often
contain fossils.

The types of sedimentary rocks are based on the source of the material:
• Detrital or clastic rocks – composed mainly of mineral grains weathered from pre-existing rock and
cemented together by precipitated minerals
• Chemical rocks – composed of minerals precipitated from water by biologic or inorganic processes, or
the remains of organisms.
Textural terms dominate clastic nomenclature, while the composition dominates chemical nomenclature.

5.2 How Does Loose Sediment Become Sedimentary Rock?

Diagenesis = chemical, physical, and biological changes that take place after sediments are deposited. It
includes recrystallization (development of more stable minerals from less stable ones) and lithification.

Lithification - the conversion of sediment into rock via two main steps:
• Compaction - a decrease in volume due mainly to loss of pore space. Broken minerals may have
exposed charges that help them to stick together.
• Cementation - dissolved ions precipitate in pore space, “gluing” minerals together literally as a
cement. Cementation thus decreases pore space. Natural cements include calcite, silica, and iron
oxide. Temperature effects:
○ Calcite dissolves better in cold water and comes out when warmed.
○ Silica dissolves better in warm water and comes out of solution when cooled.

5.3 Detrital or clastic sedimentary rocks

5.3.1 Textures of clastic sedimentary rocks

Clastic sedimentary rocks are classified on the basis of texture and composition (Fig. 5-1).

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 Fig 5-1: Classification of clastic sedimentary rocks on the basis of texture (grain size) (after Smith, 2010).

a) Clast (grain) size

The average diameter of clasts range from very coarse to very fine:
• Boulder, cobble, pebble, and pea gravel.
• Coarse, medium, and fine sand.
• Coarse, medium, and fine silt.
• Coarse and fine clay.
With increasing transport, average grain size decreases (Fig. 5-2).
Particle size is used to distinguish among the various rock types (see Table 5-1).
▪ Smaller clasts (sand or smaller) – typically consists of individual mineral grains or lithic clasts (Chips
of fine-grained rock that are mixed with sand grains).
▪ Larger clasts (pebbles or larger) – typically consists of rock fragments.

Mineral identity important - stable end-products of weathering (quartz, Fe-oxides, clays), unstable
minerals signify special conditions (feldspars).Samestelling help om die afsettings omgewing se
geskiedenis te ontsyfer. / Composition helps to decipher depositional history.

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 b) Angularity and sphericity
Angularity - indicates the degree to which grains have smooth or angular corners and edges (Fig. 5-3).
Sphericity -Refers to the degree to which a clast is equidimensional (Fig. 5-3).
These indicate the degree of transport. Fresh detritus is usually angular and non-spherical. Grain roundness
and sphericity increases with transport:
• Well-rounded – Long transport distances.
• Angular –Negligible transport.

c) Sorting
It describes the uniformity of grain size (Fig. 5-3):
• Well-sorted – Uniform grain size.
• Poorly sorted – Wide variety of grain sizes.

Sorting indicates the constancy of environmental energy:

• Well-sorted – Uniform energy (i.e., a beach).
• Poorly sorted – Variable energy (i.e., an alluvial fan).

d) Character of cement
The cement is the minerals that fill sediment pores.
Fluids with dissolved solids flush through pore system. Dissolved ions slowly crystallize in (and fill) pores.
Cementation varies in degree:
• Weakly cemented (friable) – Grains easily pulled from rock.
• Strongly cemented (indurated) – Grains hard to dislodge.
• Common cements: quartz, calcite, hematite, and clay minerals

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5.3.2 Coarse clastic sedimentary rocks

Composed of gravel-sized clasts.

• Breccia (Fig. 5-4a) – Comprised of angular clasts which indicates the lack of transport processing and
thus deposited close to source.
• Conglomerate (Fig. 5-4b) – comprised of rounded clasts which indicates processing by transport and
thus deposited away from source area.
• Diamictite (Fig. 5-4c) – Clast poor conglomerate that consist of sparse gravels supported in a
mud/sand matrix. Displays a nonsorted or poorly sorted texture of lithified glacial deposits.

5.3.3 Sandstone – Clastic rock made of sand-sized particles.

Forms in many depositional settings. Texture and composition permit historic interpretation. Quartz is,
by far, the dominant mineral in sandstones.
• Quartz arenite – sandstone characterized by dominance of quartz (well sorted and well rounded
grains) with little or no feldspar, mica, or fine clastic matrix, most commonly held together by such
cements as calcite and silica.
• Arkose – sandstone containing 25% or more of feldspar (derived from erosion of a granitic source
area) with angular to sub angular grains bonded together by calcareous cement, clay minerals / iron
oxides
• Lithic sandstone –Sandstone consisting of sub rounded to rounded grains of quartz, muscovite, chert,
rock fragments and maybe some feldspar set in a fine-grained detrital matrix (~15% of the rock)
with mineral cement or clay
• Wacke – Poorly sorted sandstone consisting of coarser sub rounded to angular grains of quartz,
feldspar and rock fragments set in a dark, very fine-grained matrix with significant quantities (~30%
of the rock) of clay, chlorite, micas and silt with little or no cement

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5.3.4 Fine clastic sedimentary rocks
Composed of silt and clay:
• Siltstone – fine-grained siliciclastic rock containing less than 33% clay and more than 67% silt size
particles.
• Mudstone – fine-grained siliciclastic rock containing between silt and clay sized particles, but not less
than 33% of either.
• Shale – Shale is a mudstone with a fissile or platy fabric, and is usually thinly laminated. Shales are
composed of clay minerals, fine-grained quartz and feldspars and various amounts of carbonates,
sulfides, iron oxides, heavy minerals, and organic carbon
• Claystone – fine-grained siliciclastic rock consisting entirely of clay (see Table 5-1)
Fine clastic sediment are only deposited in non-agitated water.
• Common in deep water basins.
• fossil content is an indication of the depositional environment.
• Organic-rich shales are the source of oil.

5.4 Chemical sedimentary rocks

Consist of precipitated material that was once in solution.
Precipitation of material occurs by:
• Inorganic processes – minerals precipitated from water solution forming chemical sedimentary rocks
• Organic processes (biochemical origin) – sediments derived from living organisms, forming biochemical
sedimentary rocks
See Fig. 5-6 for the chemical classification of chemical sedimentary rocks.
• Evaporites – created from evaporated seawater. Evaporation triggers deposition of chemical
precipitates e.g. halite (rock salt) and gypsum.
The specific type of salt constituting an evaporite (rock) depends on the amount of evaporation:
○ Gypsum –when 80% of the water evaporates
○ Halite – when 90% of the water evaporates
○ 80% Halite, 13% Gypsum & other salts + carbonates –if seawater evaporate entirely
• Travertine – calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitated from ground water where it reaches the surface.
Comprises high concentrations of dissolved calcium ion (Ca2+) and bicarbonate ion (HCO3-). Carbon
dioxide (CO2) is expelled in contact with air which causes CaCO3 to precipitate. Forms at thermal
(hot) springs and in caves.

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• Dolostone – Limestone that has been chemically modified by Mg-rich fluids. Limestone [CaCO3] is
recrystallized to dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2]. Dolostone looks like limestone, except it has a sugary
texture, a larger porosity and it weathers to a tan colour.

• Oolitic limestone – a rock composed of small spherical grains called ooids that are formed in shallow
marine waters as small calcium carbonate particles (Fig. 5-7).

• Replacement chert – Non-biogenic in origin. Many varieties (Fig. 5-8):

○ Flint – black or gray from organic matter.
○ Jasper –red or yellow from Fe oxides.
○ Petrified wood – wood grain preserved by silica.
○ Agate – concentrically layered rings.

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5.4.1 Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks
Numerous organisms extract dissolved ions from seawater to make solid shells e.g. Ca2+ and CO32+ ions
which they merge to make the minerals calcite (CaCO3) or its polymorph, aragonite or other organisms
make their shells out of dissolved silica (SiO2)
When they die their shells turns into sediment that eventually becomes biochemical sedimentary rocks:
• Biochemical limestone - rocks formed from the calcite or aragonite skeletons of organisms. They
differ from one another according to the material from which they formed:
○ Fossiliferous limestone – consisting of identifiable shells and shell fragments usually cemented by
calcite. Coquina = shells and shell fragments loosely cemented (Fig. 5-9).
○ Micrite –very fine mud formed of microscopic crystals of calcium carbonate
○ Chalk – consisting of plankton shells
• Biochemical chert - rocks made from cryptocrystalline quartz. Silica-rich shells accumulate on the sea
floor and gradually, after burial, the shells dissolve, forming a silica-rich solution and chert
precipitates from this solution.

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5.5 Organic sedimentary rocks
Rocks that consist entirely or partly of organic carbon-rich deposits formed by decay of once-living
material that has been buried.
• Coal – Black, combustible rock consisting of over 50% carbon that occurs as pure carbon or as an
element in organic chemicals (not minerals). Accumulates in lush tropical wetland settings and
requires deposition in the absence of oxygen.
Oil shale – Organic material derived from fats and proteins that made up the flesh of plankton / algae
can mix with mud and be incorporated in shale
The stages of coal formation are shown in Fig. 5-10.

5.6 Classification of sedimentary environments

A geographic setting where sediment is deposited and accumulating (Fig. 5-11). It determines the nature
of the sediments that accumulate (grain size, grain shape, etc.).

5.6.1 Continental
Alluvial Fans - Deposits that form at the base of mountains where rapidly flowing streams suddenly
emerge from a narrow valley, spread our, slow down, and dump the larger particles in their sediment
load. They are poorly sorted and clasts are frequently angular. The composition of the fragments is
similar to the rocks exposed in the nearby mountains.
Braided Rivers – Characterized by many channels separated by bars or small islands. Braiding results from
rapid, large fluctuations in the volume of river water, and an abundance of coarse sediment.
Meandering Rivers – confined to one, highly sinuous channel, and contain finer sediment load than braided
rivers. Meandering rivers also form bars, but they are formed on the inside bend of meander loops. As a
result these bars build outward, and migrate across the river basin.

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Lakes - Ideal sediment traps composed of silt and clay, the type sediment deposited depends upon
water depth, climate, and the character of the surrounding land areas. Playa lakes are shallow
temporary lakes that occur in arid regions.
Glaciers - Deposits are characteristically unsorted mixtures of boulders, gravel, sand, and clay.
Eolian environments - Where wind is an important agent of sediment transport and deposition.
Deserts and Sand dunes are characterized by an abundance of sand and silt, little plant cover, and
strong winds typical of desert regions.

5.6.2 Shoreline environments

Shoreline of a continent is the transitional zone between marine and nonmarine environments.
Beaches - shoreline accumulations of sand or gravel.
Tidal flats - mud-covered areas that are alternately flooded and drained by tides.
Deltas - form when streams enter bodies of standing water, undergo an abrupt loss of velocity and
drop their load of sediment, grows seaward if shoreline currents and waves do not remove the deposits
as quickly as they are supplied. Progressively finer sediment will he deposited in progressively deeper or
quieter water as the current provided by the stream diminished.
Barrier islands - built parallel to shorelines by wave and current action.
Lagoons - often found between the mainland and a barrier island. Deposits are limited to fine clay and
precipitation of calcareous remains of microscopic organisms.

5.6.3 Marine

Continental shelves - nearly flat, smooth surfaces that fringe the continents in widths that range from
only a few kilometres to about 300 km, and depths that range from low tide to about 200 m. All of
the sediment that eroded from the continents are carried to the sea and ultimately across the shelves
or is deposited on them.
Factors that influence the type of sediment that are deposited on continental shelves:
• nature of the source rock on adjacent land masses
• elevation of source areas
• presence of carbonate-secreting organisms
Continental slopes -correspond to the areas of the ocean floor that extend from the seaward edge of
the continental shelves down to the ocean deeps. Ocean floor range from 1400-3200 meters and
sediment deposited here are mostly fine sand, silt, and clay.
Turbidity currents - Dense, suspended sediment laden water that deposits sediment away from the
continent forming submarine fans at the base of the continental slope.
Deep sea - corresponds to the oceanic topography regions far from the continents deposits are limited
to only very fine clay, volcanic ash, and the calcareous or siliceous remains of microscopic organisms that
have settled to the seafloor.

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5.7 Sedimentêre strukture
Physical and biological processes operating in depositional environments are responsible for a variety of
sedimentary structures.
Sedimentary rocks are usually layered or “stratified”:
• Bed – a single layer of sediment or sedimentary rock with a recognizable top and bottom
• Bedding plane – the boundary between two beds
• Strata – several beds together
• Bedding or stratification – the overall arrangement of sediment into a sequence of beds
Bedding is caused by changing conditions during deposition e.g. energy conditions that control the grain
size of the deposit and disturbance by organisms like worm holes.

5.7.1 Flat or parallel lamination

Laminae < 1 cm thick.
Lamination – structure in a rock that consists of various laminae.
Flat or parallel lamination is lamination which is parallel to the bedding of a sedimentary rock.

5.7.2 Ripples, Dunes and Crossbedding

Water flowing over loose sediment creates bedforms and are linked to:
○ Flow velocity
○ Sediment size
• Ripples – Asymmetric ripples resemble unidirectional flow while symmetric ripples resemble wave
oscillation
• Dunes – large ripples (> 5 cm high) e.g. dunes on the bed of a stream may be tens of cm high
& wind-formed dunes may be tens to over 100 m high.
• Cross bedding (Fig. 5-12) - if you slice into a ripple or dune and examine it in cross section, you
will find internal laminations that are inclined at an angle to the boundary of the main
sedimentary layer. Created by ripple and dune migration.
• Turbidity currents and graded beds
○ Turbidity currents - most typically an underwater current of usually rapidly moving,
sediment-laden water moving down a slope. In the most typical case of oceanic turbidity
currents, sediment laden waters situated over sloping ground will flow down-hill because they
have a higher density than the adjacent waters
○ Graded bed – occurs when sediment loaded currents (turbity currents) experience a
relatively quick drop in velocity causing the sediment to deposit. As the sediment settles
larger, heavier, clasts settle first followed by the smaller, lighter clasts producing vertically
sorted "graded" beds with large clasts on the bottom and finer clasts on top (see bed 1 in
Fig. 5-13).
○ Turbidite (Fig. 5-13) – a sequence of strata created by successive graded beds deposited by
turbidity currents in the ocean.

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• Sole marks – Tool marks and scour marks at base of rock beds e.g. as currents flow over a sediment
surface, they may scout out small troughs.
• Mud cracks - After deposition a mud layer dries up and cracks into roughly hexagonal plates that curl
up at their edges. These cracks later fill with sediment and can be preserved.
• Fossil imprints – imprints of skeletal fossils.
• Trace fossils (bioturbation) – When burrowing organisms disrupt the layering e.g. remnants of burrows
and tunnels excavated by clams, worms, and many other marine organisms that live on the bottom of
the sea:

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 ○ Vertical - represents a high energy environment.
○ Sub horizontal - represents an intermediate energy environment
○ Horizontal - represents a low energy environment.
• Stromatolites (Fig. 5-14) - Growth structures formed by cyano-bacteria.

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