Characteristics of sedimentary rocks

We will look at all the Characteristics of the sedimentary rocks, that makes them so diverse and enables them to create some of the most diverse, complicated, and beautiful structures of the world. The word sedimentary comes from Latin, word �sediment�, which means to settle.

Let us look at the characteristics of sedimentary rocks that make them so unique.

1. Sedimentary rocks are also known as secondary rocks as they are formed by the sediments of other rocks denuded and deposited by the agents of gradation. Igneous rock is the most important original source of the inorganic mineral matter that forms sedimentary rocks.
   
2. Most sedimentary rocks are formed by the lithification of weathered rock debris that has been physically transported and deposited. Lithification is the process that turns raw rock sediment into consolidated sedimentary rock.
   
   Examples of this type of sedimentary rock include conglomerate and sandstone.
   
3. The remaining types of sedimentary rocks are created either from chemical precipitation and crystallization or by the lithification of once-living organic matter. Sedimentary rocks are largely found on the Earth�s surface. They cover 75% area of the Earth.
   
4. Sedimentary rocks are deposited in seas and oceans in sequential order. The size of the sediments decreases from littoral margins to the center of the water bodies, e.g boulders, cobbles, pebbles, granules, sands, clays, and lime.
   
5. These rocks are generally not crystalline in nature. Compared to igneous rocks, they are soft and have many layers as they are formed due to the deposition of sediments. The different types of sediments are consolidated and compacted by different types of cementing elements like calcium, silica, etc.
   
6. These rocks may have the presence of the remains of plants and animals in between various layers. Such remains are called Fossils. In fact, most of the fossils are found in sedimentary rocks because these rocks are formed on the Earth's surface and under the water at very low temperatures and pressures. These Fossils help in determining the age of Sedimentary rocks.
   
7. Most of the sedimentary rocks are permeable and porous and that is why they can hold oil and gas. Sedimentary rocks may be sub-divided on the basis of the nature of sediment, origin, and composition.
   
8. Sedimentary rocks make extensive landforms. They do not make rock forms like batholiths and laccoliths

.Read More: Types of Sedimentary Rocks: What are Sedimentary Rocks? - Class 9