SEDI

MENTARYROCKS
Thewor dsedi
mentar
yisderi
vedfrom Lati
nwordsedi
ment um whichmeanssettl
i
ngdown.Theyar eal
socall
edas
st
rati
fi
edorlayer
edrocksbecausetheserockshav
ediff
erentlay
ersorst
rat
aofdi f
ferentsedi
ments.Accor
dingtoP.
G.Worcester(
1948)'
sedimentar
yrocks,assedi
mentimpli
es,arecomposedlar
gelyoff r
agmentsofolderr
ocksand
miner
als,t
hathavebeenmoreorlessthoroughl
yConsol
idatedandarr
angedinlayersandstrat
a'.

I
nthe16km thi
ckcr
ustoft
heearth95%rocksar
eigneousand5%ar eSedi
ment ar
yrocks.Whi
l
e75%of
t
heeart
h’ssurf
acear
ecoveredbysedi
mentaryr
ocksandrestar
eigneousrocksandmet amor
phi
crocks.
Sediment aryr
ocksar eformedduetoaggr egat
ionandcompact i
onofsediments.Weatheredmat er
ial
sand
di
sintegratedparti
clesofrocksar
etransportedfr
om oneplacetoanotherandwhentransportedareusuall
y
depositedinparall
el l
ayer
soneuponanot her.Theweightofupperl
ayeronthelowerlayerhardensthelat
ter
.These
l
ayershar dened,str
atif
iedandconsol
idatedareknownasSedi mentar
yrocks.Examples–Li mestone,Dol
omite.

Someoft
hemai
nchar
act
eri
sti
csofSedi
ment
aryr
ocksar
e:

1. Sedimentaryr
ocksareformedofsediment
sderi
vedf r
om t
heol
derrocks,pl
ant
sandanimalr
emai
nsandthus
theserockscont
ainsfossi
lsofpl
antsandani
mals.Theageoft
heformationofagi
vensedi
ment
aryr
ocksmay
bedeterminedonthebasisoftheanal
ysi
softhefossi
lsf
oundi
nthatrock.

2. Sedi
ment
aryr
ockscont
ainsev
eral
lay
ersorst
rat
abutt
hesear
esel
dom cr
yst
all
i
ner
ocks.

3. Theyar
enotf
oundi
nmassi
vef
ormsl
i
kei
gneousr
ocks.

4. Sedi
ment
aryr
ocksar
echar
act
eri
sedbydi
ff
erentsi
zesofj
oint
s.Thesear
egener
all
yper
pendi
cul
art
othe
beddi
ngpl
anes.

5. Sedi
ment
aryr
ocksar
eweat
her
edander
odedmor
erapi
dlyt
hanot
hert
ypesofr
ocks.

6. Thebasi
cconst
it
uent
soft
heser
ocksorsedi
ment
sar
eder
ivedf
rom di
ff
erentsour
cesandmi
ner
algr
oups.

7. Thedeposi
ti
onofsedi
ment
sofv
ari
oust
ypesandsi
zest
ofor
m sedi
ment
aryr
ockst
akespl
acei
ncer
tai
n
sequenceandsystem.Thesizesedi
mentsdecreasesfr
om thel
it
tor
almargi
nst
othecent
reofwaterbodi
esor
sedi
ment at
ionbasi
ns.Di
ffer
entsedi
mentsareconsoli
datedandcompact
edbydif
fer
entt
ypesofcementi
ng
el
ement sEg.Si
li
ca,i
roncompounds,cl
ayset
c.

8. Sedi
ment
aryr
ocksmaybewel
lconsol
i
dat
ed,
poor
lyconsol
i
dat
edandev
enunconsol
i
dat
ed.Thecomposi
ti
onof
t
her
ocksdependsupont
henat
ureofcement
ingel
ement
sandr
ockf
ormi
ngmi
ner
als.

9. Sof
tmudsandal
l
uvi
adeposi
tedbyt
her
iver
sdur
ingf
loodper
ioddev
elopcr
ackswhenbakedi
nthesun.These
cr
acksar
egener
all
yofpol
ygonal
shapes.Suchcr
acksar
ecal
l
edasmudcr
acksorsuncr
acks

10.About75%oft
hesur
facear
eaoft
hegl
obei
scov
eredbysedi
ment
aryr
ockswher
easi
gneousandmet
amor
phi
c
r
ockscov
ertheremaini
ng25%area.Butitconst
it
utesonl
y5%oft
hecomposi
ti
onoft
hecr
ust
.Thus,
iti
s
i
mport
antfort
heextent
,notf
ort
hedept hintheeart
h’scr
ust
.

11.Sedi
ment
ati
onuni
tsi
nthesedi
ment
aryr
ockshav
ingat
hicknessgr
eat
ert
han1cm ar
ecal
l
edbeds.Theupper
andlowersur faceofabedarecall
edbeddingpl
ainsorboundingplai
ns.Thel owersurfaceofabedi scalled
solewhiletheuppersurfacei
sknownasupperbeddingsur f
ace.Furt
her ,
sedimentaryunitshavi
ngt hicknessof
mor ethan1cm ar ecal
ledaslayer
sorstr
atawhereasbelow1cm t hi
cknessar eknownasl aminae.Thus,
severalstr
ataandl ami
naemakeupabed.Whent hebedsar edeposi
t edatanangletot hedeposit
ional surf
ace,
theyarecalledcrossbedsandthegener
alphenomenaofi ncli
nedlayersarecall
edcrosslaminati
onorcr oss
bedding.

12.Theconnecti
ngplanebet
weentwoconsecutivebedsorl
ayersofsediment
aryrocksiscall
edbedding
pl
ane.Theuniformi
tyoft
wobedsalongabeddi ngpl
aneiscall
edconfor
mity(i
.e.
,whent hebedsare
si
milarinal
laspect
,whentwoconsecut
ivebedsarenotuni
form orconf
ound,t
hestructurei
scall
ed
unconformi
ty.

Anunconformi
tyisabr
eakinast
rat
igr
aphicsequencer
esul
ti
ngf
rom achangei
ncondi
ti
ont
hat
causeddeposi
ti
ontoceasef
oraconsi
derabl
etime.
Thecl
assi
fi
cat
ionofsedi
ment
:

Thesedi
mentwhi
chf
ormssedi
ment
aryr
ocksi
sdi
vi
dedi
ntot
hef
oll
owi
nggr
oups:
-

i
) LandDer
ivedi
i
)Or
gani
cii
i
)Vol
cani
civ
)Magmat
icv
)Met
eor
it
ic

Br
iefdescr
ipt
ionofeachgr
oupknowl
edgeont
hef
ormat
ionofr
ocksandt
hei
rchar
act
eri
sti
cs

i
) LandDeriv
ed–Thi sistheendproductoftheer
osi
onalprocesst
aki
ngplaceonthesurf
aceof
theear
th.Gravel
,sand,
sil
t,et
careallobt
ainedf
rom t
helandandcontai
npreci
pit
atesof
sodi
um Chlori
de,Magnesium Car
bonate,et
c.

i
i
) Or ganic–Animalsandplantssuckdi
ssol
vedmatteri
nwat erandexpelthewaterthrough
processesli
kebreat
hing,
transpi
rat
ionet
c.,
invar
iousway s.Thesedi
ment swhichisobtained
fr
om t hebodi
esofdecayedplantsandani
malsareorgani
ci nnat
ure.Example,PeatandCoal
aretransf
ormati
onofplantsandcontai
nphosphate,
Iron-
oxides,
carbonatesofMagnesi um
andCal ci
um,Sil
i
caetc.

i
i
i) Volcani
c–Themat t
erwhicher
upt
soutofvol
canoesisdeposi
tedi
ntheform ofpar
ti
cles,
pi
eces, ash,
etc.
,onthel
andaswellasi
ntheseas.Suchasedi
mentcont
ainssand,mineral
s,
coal,et
c.

i
v) Magmat i
c–Magmami xedwi thhotwat
ercomingfrom t
heint
eri
orpart
softheear
thusuall
y
fi
ndsit
swaywi t
hhotspr
ings.Iti
sdeposi
tedonlandandinseas.Thi
stypeofsedi
mentis
usual
l
yf oundi
nsmall
quantit
ies.

v
) Meteor
it
ic–Manymeteorscomecloset
otheear
th.Thefr
ict
ionwi
thai
rbur
nsthem andt
he
l
aterar
eoxi
dizedi
ntheshapeoff
ineashwhi
chsett
lesdownontheear
th’
ssur
face.

CLASSI
FICATI
ONOFSEDI
MENTARYROCKS

1.Onthebasi
softhenat
ureofsedi
ments,
sedi
mentar
yrocksar
ecl
assi
fi
edinto3cat
egor
ies.Namel
y:
a)Mechani
cal
lyf
ormedorClasti
cRocksb)Chemi
call
yfor
medSedi
mentaryrocks

c)Or
gani
cal
l
yfor
medSedi
ment
aryr
ocks

2.Onthebasisoft
ranspor
ti
ngagentssedi
mentar
yrocksar
eclassif
iedint
o3t y
pes.Theyar
e:a)
Argi
l
laceousorAqueousRocksb)Aeoli
anSedi
mentaryr
ocksc)GlacialSedi
mentaryr
ocks

Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofSedi
ment
aryRocksBasedonnat
ureofsedi
ment
s:

A.Mechani callyFor medSedi mentaryRocks:Pr eviousl yfor

medr ocksar esubjectedtomechani calor
physicaldisintegr ati
onandt husther ocksar ebr okenintof ragment sofdiff
erentsizes.Thesear e
call
edf r
agment alrocksmat eri
alsorclasti
cmat er
ialswhi chbecomesour cemat erial
swhi ch
becomesour cemat eri
alsorthefor mati
onofcl asti
csedi ment aryrocks.Thesemat eri
alsare
obtai
ned, transpor t
edanddeposi tedatsuitabl eplacesbydi fferentexogenouspr ocesseslike
runni
ngwat er ,wind, gl
acier
s,andseawav es.Thesemat er i
alsar efur t
herbr
okendowni nt
of i
ner
parti
clesduet ot heirmutualcolli
sionduri
ngt heirtranspor t
ation.Thesemat eri
alsaf t
erbeing
depositedandconsol i
datedindif
ferentwat erbodi esform sedi ment aryr
ocksknownascl ast
ic
sediment aryr ocks.Sandst one,conglomer ates, Sil
t,Shale,Clayet car eimportantmember softhis
group.

i
) Sandst
ones:Theyar
efor
medmost
lyduet
odeposi
ti
on,
cement
ati
onandconsol
i
dat
ionof
 sandgrains.Sandgrainsaredi vi
dedint
of i
vegroupsont hebasi
softhei
rsize.Whensand
grai
nsar edeposi
tedinwat erbodiesandar eaggregat
edandconsoli
datedbycement i
ng
el
ement s,suchassil
ica,calcium,ir
onoxide,cl
ayetc.sandst
oneareformed.Classi
fi
cat
ionof
sandsbyGr ainsi
zeisasgi v enbelow:

Sl
.No Sandt
ypes Gr
ainSi
ze(
inmm)

1. Ver
ycoar
sesand 1t
o2

2. Coar
sesand 0.
5to1

3. Medi
um sand 0.
25t
o0.
5

4. Fi
nesand 0.
125t
o0.
25

5. Ver
yfi
nesand 0.
0625t
o0.
125

Thecol ourofsandstonesvar
iesaccor
dingt othenat ureandamountofcement ingelementsandminer
als.
Sandst onesbecomer edorgr
eywhencal cium carbonat edominat
es.Sandstonesbecomehar dand
resistanttoerosi
onwhencement edbysil
ica.Onanav eragesandstonesareporousrocksandwater
easilypercol
atesthr
oughthem..onthebasi softexturalandmineral
ogical
character
ist
icssandst
onesare
classifi
edinto:

a)Quar
tzar
enit
es:
thewor
darenit
eisder
ivedfr
om Lat
inwor
dar
ena,
whi
chmeanssand.Quar
tz
ar
eni
tesar
ecomposedent
ir
elyofquar
tzgrai
ns.

b)Ar
kosesandst
ones–her
efel
dspari
sthedomi
nantmi
ner
al.

c) c)l
ithi
careni
tes–theyarecomposedoff
inegr
ainedr
ockf
ragment
s,most
lyder
ivedf
rom shal
es,
sl
ates,schi
stsandvol
cani
crocks.

d)Gray
wackessandst
ones–t
heyar
ecomposedofquar
tz,
fel
dsparandr
ockf
ragment
ssur
rounded
byafine–gr
ainedcl
aymat
ri
x.

i
i
) Conglomerates:Theyaref or
medduet ocementati
onandconsoli
dat
ionofpebbl
esofv ari
ous
si
zest oget
herwithsands.Thet er
m conglomeratei
sappl
iedtocementedfr
agmentalrocks
contai
ningroundedfragmentssuchaspebblesandboulders.I
fthefr
agmentsareangularor
subangular
,therockiscal
ledBreccia.

Pol
i
shedandroundedfr
agment
sarecall
edpebbl
eshavi
ngadi
ameterupto4-
64mm whi
l
e
t
hosefr
agment
swhi chhav
ethedi
ameterupto256mm ormor
earecal
ledboul
ders.

Therockfragmentsafterbeingcementedbyclayform gravel
s.Thoughgr avelsar efoundin
l
ayer
sbutthereisgeneralabsenceofunif
ormit
y.Whent her oundedfragmental mat eri
alsar
e
cement
edbyquar t
z,theresult
antrocksbecomecongl omerates.I
fconglomer atesar eformed
duetot
heircementati
onbysi l
ica,t
heybecomev eryhardrocksandr esi
stanttoer osion.

Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofgr
avel
sbygr
ainsi
ze

Sl
.No. Gr
avel
Type Gr
ainSi
ze(
inmm)

1. Boul
der Mor
ethan256

2. Cobbl
e 256–64

3. Pebbl
e 64-4
4. Gr
anul
e 4-2

i
i
i) Cl
ayr
ockandShal
e:

Clayrocksar eformedduet odepositionandcement at

ionoff i
nesedi ment s.Ther ocksf or
med
ofthesedi mentshav i
ngt hegrainsizeof0.0312mm t o0.004mm at ecalledsi l
ts.Wher eas
claysareformedwhent hesediment softhegrainsizeof0. 004mm t o0.00012mm ar e
cement edandconsol idated.Sil
tandcl ayaresoftandweakr ocksbutt heyar edefinit
ely
i
mper vi
ous.Cl ayrocksar eformedexcl usi
velyofKaol i
nmi neral
s.Sincet heyarenotsol ubl
e,
theyareleastaffectedbychemi cal
weat heri
ngbutt hesear eeasil
yer odedaway .Purecl ay
rocksareofwhi tecolourbutt heychangei ncolourwhent heyaremi xedwi thimpur i
ti
esof
othermat eri
als.

Shalesaref
ormedduet oconsol
idat
ionofsi
l
tandcl
ay.Shal
esarefor
medofthinlaminae
whichareeasi
lysepar
ated.Shal
esareimper
meabl
erocksandther
efor
etheyholdmineraloi
l
abovethem.

B.Chemi
cal
l
yfor
medSedi
ment
aryr
ocks:

Runningwatercontai
nschemi calmater
ial
sinsuspension.Whensuchchemicallyact
ivewater
comesincontactwiththecountryr
ocksinitsway,sol
ublemateri
alsar
eremov edfrom therocks.
Suchmat eri
alsar
ecall
edchemi call
yderi
vedorformedsediments.Thesechemicalmat er
ial
safter
beingsett
leddownandcompact edandcementedf or
m chemicalsedi
mentaryrockssuchas
gypsum andsaltr
ocks.

C.Or
gani
cal
l
yFor
medSedi
ment
aryRocks:

Thesediment sderiv
edf r
om thedisi
ntegrati
onordecomposi ti
onofpl ant
sandani malsar
ecal
l
ed
organicsediments.Thesesedimentsafterbeingdeposit
edandconsol i
datedfor
m organi
c
sedimentaryrocks.Onthebasisofli
meandcar boncont ent
,theserocksar edi
vi
dedinto3
categori
ese.g.i)cal
careousrocks,i
i
)car bonaceousrocks,i
ii
)sili
ceousrocks.

i
) cal
careousrocks:theyar eformedduet odepositi
onandconsol i
dat i
onofsedi ments
der
ivedfrom theskeletonsandr emainsofthoseanimal sandpl antswhi chcontainlarger
por
ti
onofl i
me.Thecal careousrocksarecoll
ectivel
ycalledascar bonater ocksorsimpl y
car
bonates.Exampl esar eLimestones(CaCO3) ,
orcalcium car bonat e,magnesium
car
bonate(MgCO3) ,andDol omite(CaMg( CO3)2)
.Ther ockshav i
ngt hecar bonatesofbot h
cal
cium andmagnesi um ar eknownasDol omitewhi charelesssol ublethanthe
l
imestones.Thecar bonatesrocksafterweatheri
ngandchemi caler osi
on, gi
vebirt
ht o
Kar
stTopogr aphy.Chalkisalsoanotherform ofcarbonat erockswhi chissof t
erandmor e
por
oust hanli
mest one.

i
i
) car
bonaceousr
ocks:

Carbonaceousr ocksaredomi natedbycar bonicmat erial

swhi chr epresentvegetat
ion
remains.Theser ocksaref or
medduet otransformationofv eget ati
onsbecauseoft he
buri
alsduringearthmov ement sandconsequentwei ghtandpr essureofov erl
yi
ngdeposits.
Theinit
ialfor
m ofcar bonaceousr ocksispeatwhi chisadar kgr eycolour.Theother
subsequentformsofcar bonaceoussedi mentaryrocksar eli
gni te,bi
tuminousand
anthr
acitecoalswhi charegreaterproporti
onofcar bonanddar kercolour.Coal
sar eal
so
foundinstrati
fi
edf orm whereincoallayersareknownascoal seams.Car bonaceousrocks
aremor eimportanteconomi call
ythangeomor phological
ly.

i
i
i) Si
l
iceousr
ocks:

Theyarefor
medduet odomi nanceofsi
li
cacontent.Sil
iceousr
ocksareformeddueto
aggr
egati
onandcompact i
onofwast esderi
vedfrom spongeandr adi
olar
ianor
gani
sms
anddiat
om plant
s.Geyser
it
esar eal
sodeposit
sofsi l
icaaroundgeyser
s.Geyser
it
eshave
 dif
ferentcol
our
se.
g.whi
te,
greyorpi
nkduet
oimpur
it
iesofdeposi
ti
onofv
ari
oust
ypesof
sediments.

SEDI
MENTARYROCKCLASSI
FICATI
ONBASEDONTHETRANSPORTI
NGAGENTS

Sedimentaryrocksar ealsoclassif
iedonthebasisoftransporti
ngagentsorgeol
ogicalagentssuchas
runni
ngwat er
, wind,glaci
ers,oceaniccurr
entsandseawav es.Theseagentsoftransport
ati
onobt ai
n
dif
ferentty
pesofsedi ment sanddeposi tt
hem insui
tableplaceswheresedimentsareconsolidatedand
cement edtoform sediment aryr
ocksofv ari
oussort
s.Basedonmaj ort
ranspor
ti
ngagent s,sedimentar
y
rocksaredivi
dedi nt
oar gil
laceous,aeol
ianandglaci
alrocks.

a)Argi
ll
aceous–t heyar
ealsocall
edasaqueousr ocksbecauset hesear eformedi nwaterareas.
Aqueoushasbeender i
vedfrom Lati
nwor d‘aqua’meaning‘wat er
’.Aqueousr ocksarecall
edas
argi
ll
aceousr ocksbecauseofthedomi nanceofclayinther ocks.Thewor dar gi
ll
aceoushasbeen
deri
vedf r
om Lat i
nword‘ar
gyll
’or‘ar
gil
l’meaningtherebyclay.Theyarechar acter
izedbytheir
generalsoft
ness.Thesear eessenti
all
yimper v
iousrocks.Theyar efurthersub-di
videdi
nto3sub-
ty
pes.Theyar e:

i
) Mar
inear
gil
l
aceoussedi
ment
aryr
ocks

i
i
) Lacust
ri
near
gil
l
aceoussedi
ment
aryr
ocks

i
i
i) Ri
ver
inear
gil
l
aceoussedi
ment
aryr
ocks.

i
) Mar
inear
gil
l
aceoussedi
ment
aryr
ocks:

Theyar eformedduet odepositionandconsol i

dationofsedimentsi ntheoceans
andseasmai nlyintheirli
tt
oralzones.Thepr ocessofsedi mentat
ioni nmari
ne
envir
onmenti swellorderedandsequent i
al i
ncharacter.Thesizeofpar t
icl
es
decreasespr ogressiv
elyfrom t
hecoast all
andst owardst heseaort heoceans.The
orderofthepar ti
clesfrom thecoastl andst owardstheseai sofboul der
s,cobbl
es,
pebbles,granules,sands,sil
ts,
cl ayandl i
me.Aswegoawayf rom thecoastlands
towardsthesea, t
hesizeofsedi ment sbecomessof i
nethattheyar ekeptin
suspensionwi thoceani cwater
.Eg.Sandst one,li
mestone, dol
omitesandchal k.

i
i
) Lacust
ri
near
gil
l
aceoussedi
ment
aryr
ocks:

Theyareformedduet odeposi
tionandconsoli
dati
onofsediment
sinlake
envi
ronment.Lacustr
iner
ocksmaybeseeni n3condit
ion.(
a)ift
helakes
becomesdr y(b)i
fthefl
oorofthelakesisr
aisedduet
oear t
hmov ementsand(
c)i
f
thewholelakeisfi
l
ledupwithsediments.

i
i
i) Ri
ver
inear
gil
l
aceoussedi
ment
aryr
ocks.

Theyar ethosewhichar eformedduet odeposi

ti
onofsedi
ment sintheri
veri
ne
envir
onment .Thesediment smaybedeposi tedi
nthebedsofther i
versandinthe
fl
oodplains.Suchdepositionincludesal l
uvi
awhichar
edomi natedbyclay.Al
luvi
a
aredepositedoneithersideofther i
v erduri
ngfl
oodsanditdeveloppoly
gonal
cracksduet othei
rexposur et
oi nsolati
on.

b)AeolianSedi mentaryrocks: Theyaref ormedduet odepositi

onofsandsbr oughtdownbyt he
wind.Pr e-exi
sti
ngrocksar egr eatl
ydisintegrat
edduet omechani cal
lyweat her i
ngi nt
hehotand
dryregions.Thisprocessr esultsinthef ormationofimmensequant ityofsandsofdi fferentsizes.
Windspi ckupthesesandsanddeposi tthem atv ar
iousplaces.Thepar ti
clesar efurt
her
commi nutedint
of i
nerparticlesduet oat t
rit
ionwhil
et heyarebeingtranspor tedfrom onepl aceto
another .Conti
nuousdeposi tionofsandsr esul
tsinthef or
mationofdifferentl ayersbutthese
l
ayersar enotwellconsoli
dat edasi sthecasewi ththear gi
ll
aceousrocks.Somet i
mes, t
herei s
compl eteabsenceofl ayersi ntheairborneoraeol i
ansedi mentaryr
ocks.Exampl eofAeol i
an
 sedi
ment
aryr
ocksi
sLoess.

Aeol
iansediment
aryr
ocksaresof
tandpor
ous.I
tcanbeeasi
l
yer
odedaway
.Wat
ercan
easi
l
yinfi
lt
ratei
nthel
oessi
cdeposit
s.

c) Glaci
alSedi
mentaryr
ocks:Themateri
alsdeposi
tedbygl
aci
ersar
ecall
edglaci
aldri
ft
swhi
char
e
deposi
tedi
nfourcondi
ti
onsandtheref
oretherearef
ourt
ypesofmorai
nicdeposi
ts.

Namel
y(i
)lat
eral
mor
aines–whengl
aci
almat
eri
alsar
edeposi
tedonei
thersi
deofagl
aci
er

(
ii
)Medi
alMor
aines–whengl
aci
alsedi
ment
arymat
eri
alsar
edeposi
tedal
ongt
hej
oini
nggl
aci
ers.

(
ii
i)Gr
oundmor
aines–whent
hegl
aci
almat
eri
alsar
edeposi
tedi
nthebedoft
hegl
aci
er

(
iv)Ter
minalMor
aines–thesearefor
medwhent
hegl
aci
eri
sabl
atedandmat
eri
alsar
edeposi
ted
t
herei
n.Asshowninthef
igurebel
ow