| Vocab Word | Definition |
|---|
| arkose | mixture of quartz and feldspar grains that has been lithified |
| basement | Older igneous and metamorphic rocks making up the Earth's crust beneath sedimentary cover |
| bed | Layer of sedimentary rock with recognizable top and bottom |
| biochemical sedimentary rocks | Sedimentary rock formed from material (such as shells) produced by living organisms. |
| breccia | Coarse sedimentary rock consisting of angular fragments; or rock broken into angular fragments by faulting |
| caliche (calcrete) | A solid mass created where calcite cements the soil together |
| cement | Mineral material that precipitates from water and fills the spaces between grains, holding the grains together |
| chemical sedimentary rocks | Sedimentary rocks made up of minerals that precipitate directly from water solution |
| chemical weathering | Process in which chemical reactions alter or destroy minerals when rock comes in contact with water solutions and/or air |
| chert | Sedimentary rock composed of very fine-grained silica (cryptocrystalline quartz) |
| clastic sedimentary rocks | Sedimentary rock consisting of cemented-together detritus derived from the weathering of preexisting rock. |
| clasts | |
| coal | black combustible organic rock, composed of over 50% carbon |
| compaction | Phase of lithification in which the pressure of the overburden on the buried rock squeezes out water and air that was trapped between clasts, and the clasts press tightly together |
| conglomerate | Very coarse-grained sedimentary rock consisting of rounded clasts |
| cover | Thin layer of sediment and sedimentary rock over older igneous and metamorphic rocks |
| cross beads | |
| deposition | Process by which sediment settles out of a transporting medium |
| detritus | The chunks and smaller grains of rock broken off outcrops by physical weathering |
| diagenesis | |
| diamictite | rock formed from debris flows or in glacial settings where where ice deposits clasts of all sizes |
| dolostone | like limestone, but contains mineral dolomite |
| dunes | Pile of sand generally formed by deposition from the wind |
| erosion | Grinding away and removal of Earth's surface materials by moving water, air, or ice. |
| evaporites | salt deposit formed as a result of evaporation |
| exfoliation | Process by which an outcrop rock splits apart into onion like sheets along joints that lie parallel to the ground surface |
| fossils | Remnant or trace of an ancient living organism that has been preserved in rock or sediment |
| frost wedging | Process in which water trapped in a joint freezes, forces the joint open, and may cause the joint to grow. |
| graded bed | |
| horizons | Distinct zones formed by different soil processes at different depths |
| joints | Naturally formed cracks in rocks |
| laterite soil | Soild formed over iron-rich rock in a tropical environment, consisting primarily of a dark-red mass of insoluble iron and/or aluminum oxide |
| limestone | Sedimentary rock composed of calcite |
| lithification | Transformation of loose sediment into solid rock through compaction and cementation |
| mud cracks | |
| mudstone | very fine grained sedimentary rock that will not easily split into sheets |
| organic sedimentary rocks | Sedimentary rock (such as coal) formed from carbon rich relicts of organisms |
| pedalfer soil | Temperature-climate soil characterized by well defined soil horizons and a well defined A-horizon |
| pedocal soil | Thin soil formed in arid climates. It contains very little organic matter but significant precipitated calcite |
| physical (mechanical) weathering | Process in which intact rock breaks into smaller grains or chunks |
| redbeds | |
| regolith | Any kind of unconsolidated debris that covers bedrock |
| regression | Seaward migration of shoreline caused by a lowering of the sea level |
| ripples (ripple marks) | small elongated ridges that form on beds |
| root wedging | |
| salt wedging | Process in arid climates by which dissolved salt in groundwater crustallizes and grows in open pore spaces in rocks and pushes apart the surrounding grains |
| sandstone | Coarse-grained sedimentary rock consisting almost entirely of quartz |
| saprolite | layer of rotten rock created by chemical weathering in warm, wet climates |
| scour marks | |
| sediment | Accumulation of loose mineral grains, such as BOULDERS, PEBBLES, SAND, SILT, AND CLAY (BPSSC) |
| sedimentary basin | Depression, created as a consequence of subsidence, that fills with sediment |
| sedimentary environment | |
| sedimentary rock | Rock that forms either by cementing together of fragments broken off preexisting rock or by the precipitation of mineral crystals out of water solutions at or near the earth's surface |
| shale | Very fine-grained sedimentary rock that breaks into thin sheets |
| siltstone | fine-grained sedimentary rock generally composed of very small quartz grains |
| soil | sediment that has undergone changes at the surface of the earth, including reaction with rainwater and the addition organic material. |
| soil erosion | removal of soil by wind and runoff |
| soil profile | vertical sequence of distinct zones of soil |
| sorting | 1. Range of clast sizes in a collection of sediment; 2. degree to which sediment has been separated by flowing currents into different-size fractions |
| strata | several beds of stratified sedimentary rock |
| stratigraphic formation | A recognizable layer of a specific sedimentary rock type or set of rock types, deposited during a certain time interval that can be traced over a broad region |
| subsidence | Vertical sinking of the Earth's surface in a region, relative to a reference plane. |
| talus | Sloping apron of fallen rock along the base of a cliff |
| transgression | Inland migration of shoreline resulting in a rise of sea level |
| travertine | Rock composed of crystalline calcium carbonate (calcite and/or aragonite) formed by chemical precipitation out of groundwater that has seeped out at the ground surface or on the walls of caves. |
| turbidite | Graded bed of sediment built up at the base of a submarine slope and deposited by turbidity currents |
| wacke | rock that forms from the deposits of submarine avalanches |
| weathering | Process that break up and corrode solid rock, eventually transforming it into sediment |
| zone of accumulation | 1. Layer of regolith in which new minerals precipitate out of water passing through, thus leaving behind a load of fine clay 2. the area of a glacier in which snow fall adds to the glacier |
| zone of leaching | Layer of regolith in which water dissolves ions and picks up very fine clay; these materials are then carried downward by infiltrating water. |
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