Rocks and Minerals: Sedimentary Rock

(limestone) oolitic

(close up) are whitish to cream-colored limestones composed of well rounded, sand-sized, concentrically-layered calcite grains called ______ . they form by rolling back and forth on a shallow seafloor (or on a lakebed) by wave action.

(limestone) crystalline

A limestone formed of abundant calcite crystals as a result of diagenesis; diagenesis is any chemical, physical, or biological change undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and metamorphism. These changes happen at relatively low temperatures and pressures and result in changes to the rock's original mineralogy and texture. There is no sharp boundary between diagenesis and metamorphism, but the latter occurs at higher temperature and pressure than the former.

(limestone) fossiliferous

Biochemical rock, Formed by the accumulation and consolidation of macroscopic calcite fossils, made of calcite, Medium to coarse-grained, warm, shallow, marine environment, White/gray/pink

(Limestone) Travertine

Chemical sedimentary rock, Generally banded, Usually very fine grained, Formed in caves, calcite carbonate composition, light colored

(limestone) oolitic

Chemical, made of little round pieces called ________, medium grain size, usually light colored.

conglomerate

Clastic Rock, Very coarse grains, rounded pieces of rock, formed in rivers, beaches..

sandstone

Clastic, super fine/medium quartz grained, similar sized grains, very common.

shale

Clastic, very fine, silt and clay (mud) grain size, common in low energy environments such as lakes, deep ocean, flood plains, and deltas, hardens into slate

(Limestone) chalk

Formed by the accumulation of microscopic marine calcite fossils, Biochemical sedimentary rock, Very fine grained, calcite composition, marine environment.

conglomerate

In breccia the large particles are angular in shape but in ______ the particles are rounded. This reveals a difference in how far the particles were transported. Near the outcrop where the fragments were produced by mechanical weathering the shape is angular. However, during transport by water away from the outcrop the sharp points and edges of those angular fragments are rounded.

(limestone) travertine

In the U.S., the most well-known place for formation is Yellowstone National Park, where the geothermal areas are rich in these limestone deposits. Oklahoma has two parks are dedicated to this natural wonder. is often used as a building material. The Romans mined deposits of it for building temples, aqueducts, monuments, bath complexes, and amphitheaters such as the Colosseum, the largest building in the world constructed mostly of this.

(limestone) fossiliferous

Most form in shallow, calm, warm marine waters. That type of environment is where organisms capable of forming calcium carbonate shells and skeletons can easily extract the needed ingredients from ocean water. When these animals die their shell and skeletal debris accumulate as a sediment that might be lithified into this

sandstone

Rock formations that are primarily composed of _______ usually allow percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. Fine-grained aquifers are more apt to filter out pollutants from the surface than are rocks with cracks and crevices

sandstone

a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. mostly composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. may be any color, but the most common are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray, pink, white and black.

chert

a fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrous sedimentary rock that may contain small fossils. It varies greatly in color (from white to black), but most often manifests as gray, brown, grayish brown and light green to rusty red; its color is an expression of trace elements present in the rock, and both red and green are most often related to traces of iron (in its oxidized and reduced forms respectively).

shale

a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. Fossils, animal tracks/burrows and even raindrop impact craters are sometimes preserved on the bedding surfaces.

diatomite

a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to 200 micrometres.[1] This powder has an abrasive feel, similar to pumice powder, and is very light, due to its high porosity. consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae.

(Limestone) Crystalline

a sedimentary rock consisting of more than 50% calcium carbonate (calcite - CaCO3), chemical rock, fine-coarse grained,

(limestone) chalk

a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms

(limestone) chalk

composed mostly of calcium carbonate with minor amounts of silt and clay. It is normally formed underwater, commonly on the sea bed, then consolidated and compressed during diagenesis into the form commonly seen today. During diagenesis silica accumulates to form chert or flint nodules within the carbonate rock.

conglomerate

forms in a very energetic environment, where rocks are eroded and carried downhill so swiftly that they aren't fully broken down into sand. Another name for - puddingstone. A rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. they are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments.

shale

typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical color is gray. Addition of variable amounts of minor constituents alters the color of the rock. Black results from the presence of greater than one percent carbonaceous material and indicates a reducing environment. Red, brown and green colors are indicative of ferric oxide (hematite - reds), iron hydroxide (goethite - browns and limonite - yellow), or micaceous minerals (chlorite, biotite and illite - greens).