Sedimentary Rocks

Transportation of sediments and formation of sedimentary

rocks by mode of river water- deposition on the continent and
on the ocean floor.
Fluvial
deposits
Marine deposits

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS: are the secondary rocks which are

formed from the loose fragments or
detrital or clastic sediments produced
by weathering of older rocks.
Almost 90% of earth crust is made up of igneous rocks
75% of land surface on the earth is covered by thin veneer
of sediments or sedimentary rocks.
These sediments are transported and deposited by river
water, wind or by movement of glacial ice. Transportation
is either in suspension or in solution.
When settle down on the beds of ocean, river and lakes
undergo compaction/cementation for millions of years to
form SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

IMPORTANCE OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

Present is the key to the past
Helps in knowing depositional environment viz.
marine (ocean deposits), fluvial (river deposits),
aeolian (wind deposits), glacial, estuarine,
Lacustrine (lake deposits) etc.
Helps in knowing the provenance (i.e. source area
of the sediments); change in climatic conditions
i.e. in knowing and understanding old
climate=paleoclimate.

TYPES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Clastic rocks

Chemical & Organic rocks

Sandstones
Conglomerates
Breccia
Shale/mudstones

Evaporitic rocks
These rocks are formed
due to evaporation of saline
water (sea water)
eg. Gypsum, Halit
(rock salt)

Carbonate rocks

Organic rocks

Form basically from

CaCO3 both by
chemical leaching and
by organic source
(biochemical)
eg.
Limestone; dolomite

Form due to
decomposition of
organic remains
under temperature
and pressure eg.
Coal/Lignite etc.

CLASTIC ROCKS
formed from broken rock fragments weathered
and eroded by river, glacier, wind and sea
waves. These clastic sediments are found
deposited on floodplains, beaches, in desert and
on the sea floors.
solidify

Clastic rocks

Clastic rocks are classified on the basis of

the grain size: conglomerate, sandstone,
shale etc.

GRAIN SIZE
Gravel
>256-2 mm
Boulder: >256mm
Cobble: 64-256 mm
Pebble: 4-64 mm
Granule: 2-4mm
Fine gravel

Sand
2- 0.062 mm

Silt
0.062-0.004 mm

Clay
<0.004 mm

 Clastic rocks mainly

comprise
broken
fragment of older
rock they are also
know as Terrigenous
rocks

Matrix:
is the finer grains
or material that
surrounds the
larger clasts. It
consist of either
clay, silt and sand.

Any rock fragment

(size is > 4 mm=Pebble)

Cement:
dissolved
substance
that bounds
the
sediments.
1. Calcareous
2. siliceous

Fine-gravel/
Granule
(size <4mm)

Degree of roundness helps in knowing the distance of transportation

Angular clasts- short distance transport from the source
Rounded clasts- long distance transport

When clastic fragments are

cemented or undergo consolidation
they are called
CONGLOMERATES

Similarly when angular clasts

undergo consolidation they are
called BRECCIA

Sorting of the sediments also suggest the mode of deposition and transportation.
Long distance transport= well-rounded and well-sorted sediments,
Short distance transport = poorly sorted angular grains.
Also helps in knowing the energy conditions of the river.

DIFFERENT CATERGORIES OF CLASTIC ROCKS

RUDACEOUS ROCKS: made up of rounded or subrounded Pebbles and cobbles eg. conglomerate

ARENACEOUS ROCKS: made up of mainly sand eg.

Sandstone. These rocks are either accumulated by
wind action or deposited under water action or marine
or lake environment

ARGILLACEOUS ROCKS: made up of clay size

sediments eg. Shale, mudstones, siltstones.

IMPORTANCE
CONGLOMERATE

comprise clastic sediments like

pebbles and cobbles (heterogeneous)

If the cementation is good (voids between the clasts) = then the

conglomerate will be hard and competent hence act as strong
foundation, but not good rock for ground water source.
However, if the cementation is poor = it makes the rock more porous
with high porosity = act as good reserve for ground water (aquifer),
but is undesirable at the site for foundation of major CE structures.
Due to heavy seepage along the conglomerate may result in failure by
sliding. Eg. Failure of St. Francis dam, US.

Cementation:
Cementing material is usually secondary Silica
(Siliceous cement), Calcium carbonate
(Carbonate cement), Iron rich (ferruginous
cement)
Cement itself to some extent is the source of
weakness in the sedimentary rocks
Because cementing material and the clastic
sediments
are
usually
of
different
composition, leading to heterogeneity in their
physical characteristics.

 Hence such rock will not behave homogeneously under stress,

resulting into development of cracks or fissures which develops
in cementing material.
If the cement is Calcium Carbonate- it is undesirable, because
it is susceptible to dissolve in Carbon-dioxide in water
However, if cementation process continuous for longer span of
time= cementation will become more complete, which reduce
the porosity and permeability in the rock mass and increase
competence.
Shape of grains: i.e. if coarser grains are rounded or
subrounded=cement material will not have firm grip=such
rocks behave as incompetent rocks

 SANDSTONE:
Made up of sand grains dominantly of Quartz and
Feldspars, where quartz is highly resistive to
weathering
Cementation plays similar role in this rock as seen in
conglomerate
However, Siliceous cement are best and highly
desirable for CE purposes, also the ferruginous sst.

Different type of Sst. (based on their composition)

Quartz Sst.

Arkose (Feldspar)

Graywacke/lithic arenite

SHALE

Shale-fissile

Shales are clastic rocks, made up

mainly fine silt/clay
They
are
most
abundant
sedimentary rocks, accounts for
about 80% of them
Often contain fossils
Mostly hydrous aluminum silicate
in composition = from weathered
feldspars
Deposition takes place under low
fluvial regime or under weak water
current. Eg. Offshore or in Lagoon

Shales are made of fine well sorted silt and clayey sediments, where
normally one can expect high porosity and permeability.

But due to surface tension phenomenon of water and extremely fine

intergranular space shales are impermeable, hence does not yield water
when tapped

CE IMPORTANCE

When shales are saturated with water under pressure they

are likely to produce slippery foundation for any structuretherefore not suitable for CE structures
eg. Lafayette dam of US constructed on argillaceous rocks
sunk by 20 feet.
Srisailam Dam in Andhra Pradesh (One of the 12th largest
Hydroelectric Projects in the India) faced similar problem,
however, precautions were take by grouting to stop the
seepage along the weak zones.
Because of its impermeable and porous nature it acts as cap
rocks in the occurrence of Oil and Gas.

EVAPORITIC ROCKS
These rocks are formed within the a depositional basin
from chemical substances dissolved in the seawater or
lake water.

Gypsum

CaSO4.2H20

Halite

(NaCl)

Economic importance of Evaporites

SALT: other then daily use of salt for cooking, it

is used
For production of Paper,
Soap
Detergents
Antiseptics
As chemical for dyeing etc.

GYPSUM:

is used for plaster and in

manufacturing construction materials.

CARBONATE ROCKS
Limestone:

It is a non-clastic rock formed either

chemically or due to precipitation of calcite (CaCO3)
from organisms usually (shell). These remains will result
in formation of a limestone.

Limestones formed by chemical precipitation are usually

fine grained, whereas, in case of organic limestone the
grain size vary depending upon the type of organism
responsible for the formation
Chalk: which is made up of foraminefera is very fine grained
Fossiliferous Limestone: which medium to coarse grained, as it
is formed out of cementation of Shells.

Chalk

used as a building stone and in the manufacture of lime, carbon

dioxide, and cement.
Massive and compact lst. Are competent to support CE-structure
However, if it occur in huge thickness then it is not advisable,
because of its typical CAVING character.

Sedimentary structures
Bedding is most imp.
Feature of a sed. Rock
Beds are usually > 1 cm
Laminae < 1 cm
Orientation of bedding
helps in knowing the
paleo-current direction
of the old rivers

GRADED BEDDING

Medium-coarse sandy
lithounit (cross stratified)

Fine gravelly lithounit

Laminated layers of fine silt and clay

Cross-stratified sst.
Paleo-flow from
right to left

Sand Dunes
Typical cross stratification in

Ripple marks

Biogenic structures

Foot prints

Snake Trails

Mud cracks