My Wildcat

Years By : Yusuf Ahmed

6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade
9th Grade

Subjects

Math
Science
Social Studies
Language Arts

Geology

The Jebels

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In science class we learned a lot about rocks and

their history in the Jebels. Did you know that the

Jebels were in an ocean millions of years ago? In
the Jebels the layers are shale, gypsum, and
limestone. The limestone has calcium carbonate,
proving that the Jebels used to be under a sea.
And the shale proves that the Jebels were in deep
water. Rocks in the Jebels are being formed by the
sand and mud forming their particles together by
what is called sedimentation or matrix. The newly
formed rocks are then, naturally broken down into
smaller parts by what is called weathering.

Weathering

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Weathering is the breaking down of rocks by natural forces.

There are 2 types of weathering. Physical (mechanical) and

chemical weathering. Those 2 types have other branches
too. In the Jebels, pressure release, and acid rain occur
quite often. This doesnt occur overnight, and might take
millions of years.

Deposition

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Deposition is the process in which sediments

are put into a basin. The smallest sediments

go in faster, further, and deeper water, and
they are like clay, meanwhile, the bigger
sediments such as sediments of sand are
nearer to the shore and are slower. They are in
shallower water. In the Jebels, the biggest
sediments would be limestone, and the
smaller ones shale.

Superposition

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Superposition means that when a rock is formed

by layers, the oldest layer is the one formed at the

bottom, and the youngest one is formed at the
top. Sometimes the layers can be twisted and
pulled , and therefore reverse the order but not
often. Only sedimentary rocks have layers. In the
Jebels, limestone was the oldest layer. On top of it
was shale, and atop that was gypsum. Above that
was a lot of limestone layers.Oldest layer

Youngest layer

Silicate

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Silicate minerals have a very, very

large amount of minerals in the

Earths crust. Silicates alone form
about 90 percent of the earths crust.
Silicate is made out of oxygen and
silicon, and the basic chemical unit is
Sio4 or Sio2.These are examples of the
massive abundance of
silicate minerals.

Calcium Carbonate
Calcium carbonate, is another way

of saying CaCo3. This is found in

calcite, and marble and others. In
the Jebels it is found in limestone.
Calcium Carbonate also fizzes in
hydrochloric and sulfuric acid.
Because of this we know that the
Jebels must have a lot of calcite
because many of the
rocks and sand fizz in acid.

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Matrix

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Matrix is the sticky glue that helps

sedimentary rocks form. If there are many

sediments just lying around, and they get
blown together matrix is needed to stick
them together. A good example is when
limestone was formed in the Jebels with
calcite acting as matrix.
matrix

Erosion

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Erosion is when water and wind carry away rock

particles, or sediments and places them

somewhere else. The Jebels were once eroded
when they were in a deep ocean. The eroded
part came to be the shale layer. The dead seaanimals who lived in the ocean at that time and
deposited with the rocks are now visible fossils
Wind and water deposit fish and rocks
today.

Uniformitarianis
m

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Uniformitarianism is another way of

saying the present is the key to the

past. In the Jebels there are many
fossilized fishes and shark teeth,
which can come to show that the
Jebels were underwater.
This shark tooth that can be seen today
can be used to show that the Jebels were
located in an ocean.

Layers

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There are 3 layers in the Jebels: limestone , gypsum

and shale. These layers, like most layers, have

horizontality and superposition. Limestone comes
from shallow sea, and shale comes from deep water.
We also know the age of the fossils. We know this
because we can see the fossils from each layer, and
use relative dating to find out the time period of the
dead creatures.

Fossilized
creature
that lived
in deep water

Fossilized
creature that
lived in shallow
water

Shale
Limestone

Sedimentation

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Sedimentation in the Jebels is very cool.

Limestone has many seashells. It also has

fine calcite sediments, and large seashell
and nummulities sediments. Shale is
very well sorted, and has small sediments
which were weathered a lot and therefore
mature.

Canyon
A canyon is formed when a river runs through

a plateau and abrades or erodes through it.

The stronger areas on the side of the plateau
are resistant to the weathering, and rock
builds up on it, causing 2 cliffs on the sides of
the river. Canyons occur mostly in areas high
in limestone. There are small canyons in the
Jebels too. Whenever it rains in the Jebels
(which is not often) , the canyons get
Back deeper.
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HorizontalityBack to Subjects
Horizontality is when layers are

visible above the surface and are

horizontal, therefore being called
horizontality. The Jebels have
horizontality because of their visible
layers, even though there is gypsum
once and limestone and shale are
repeated.

Limestone

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Limestone is one of the three layers

in the Jebels, along with shale and

gypsum. Limestone is located in
shallow water. It has large particles,
or sediments. Limestone is also very
high in calcite and calcium carbonate
. It is also used in building many
things, such as the pyramids.

Shale

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Shale is one of the three basic layers

in the Jebels, along with gypsum and
limestone. Shale has small sediments
that are very small. They are also
very well sorted and mature, which
means that it was weathered a lot.