Primary Sedimentary

Structures

Prepared By:
Aliyah Ali
Rajiv Dukeran
Marvin Henry
Vitra Ramjattan-Harry
MSc. Reservoir Engineering -Year 1, Sem. 1
GEOL 2003 : Sedimentary Rocks

Aliyah Ali, Rajiv Dukeran, Marvin Henry, Vitra Ramjattan-Harry

GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

Introduction
Sedimentary structures are formed
during sediment deposition. The
process of deposition usually imparts
variations in layering, bed forms and/ or
other structures that give clues to the
environment in which deposition
occurs. Such things as water and oil
depth, current velocity and direction
can sometimes be determined by the
study of these structures. The structure
can be broken down into 2 main types;
primary and secondary.
The framework of this paper only
investigates the Primary Structures
since these are the most important
which is formed during the deposition of
sediments (physical process involved at
the time of deposition). Secondary
structures occurs after deposition
occurs i.e. the chemical weathering of
rocks e.g. the precipitation of minerals
in limestone.

(ii)
(iii)

(iv)

bedding and massive

bedding.
Bedforms: Ripples, sand
waves, dunes and anti-dunes
Cross Lamination: cross
bedding, rippled cross
lamination, heterolithic (flaser
and lenticular) bedding and
hummocky cross bedding.
Irregular Stratification:
Convolute bedding, Ball and
Pillow Structures,
Syndedimentaty Folds, faults
and rip-up Clasts, Flame
Structures Load casts, Dish
and Pillar, channels, Scour
and Fill Structures, Mottled
Bedding, Stromatolites

Beds, Bedding
A bed is a layer of sedimentary rocks or
sediments bounded above and below
by bedding surfaces. They are either in
tabular or lenticular layers.

Primary Structures
There are 3 sub categories in primary
structures:
(i)

(ii)
(iii)

Stratification and
Bedforms - the way
sediment layers are stacked
over each other, and can
occur on the scale of
hundreds of meters, and
down to sub-millimeter scale.
Bedding-Plane Markings
Other Structures
Sedimentary silks and dikes.

Stratification and Bedforms

These consists of the following:
(i)

FIGURE 1: SEDIMENTARY LAYERS

Layered structure of sediments are the
most obvious feature of sedimentary
rock. The layers are unmistakable due
to the degree of mineralogy, clast size
and sorting.
Layers are classified on the basis of
their thickness as per Table 1.

Bedding and lamination:

laminated bedding, graded
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
TABLE 1: CLASSIFICATION OF LAYERS

Layer Thickness

Names

> 300 cm

Massive

100-300 cm

Very thickly
bedded

30 - 100 cm

Thickly bedded

10 - 30 cm

Mediumly bedded

3 - 10 cm

Thinly bedded

1 - 3 cm

Very thinly bedded

0.3 - 1 cm

Thickly laminated

<0.3 cm

Thinly laminated

Beds are generally designated by layers

greater than 1 cm. Layers thinner than
1 cm are called laminae.
Bedding planes that isolate
sedimentary layers usually represent a
plane of non-deposition a change in the
deposition condition or process, erosion
surface. When this occurs in
sedimentary beds of similar
composition, this type of bed is called
an amalgamated bed and the surface
separating the beds is called the
amalgamated surface.
Beds that consists of internal layers
that are parallel to the bounding
bedding surfaces are called planarstratified, groups of these are called
bed sets. Bed Sets are categorized
based on composition, textures and
internal structures. Composite Beds
are beds in which composition, texture
and internal structures differ. Layers
that are deposited at an angle to the
bounding surface are called CrossStratified.

Laminated Bedding
This consists of internal layers less than
1cm thick. The laminae is identified
based on differences in grain size, clay
content, mineral composition and
organic matter content. The origins of
these laminations are as a result of the

fallout of suspended
sediment onto a planar sediment
surface in the presence of currents that
are too weak to transport the newly
arriving sediment over the bed. Some
of these depositional environments
include (lakes, tidal flats, deep see
environments etc) and laminated
structure examples are Shale and
Evaporites.

FIGURE 2: LAMINATED BEDDING

Parallel laminations also are very
common in Sandstone.

Graded Bedding
It is bedding in which the particles are
sorted according to size, shape and
density. There are two types of Grading
(i)
Normal Grading if the
particle size decrease upward,
the bed is said to be normally
graded

FIGURE 3:
NORMAL GRADING
(ii)

Reverse Graded the particle

size increase upward, the bed
is said to be inversely graded/
reversely graded.
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

deposits such as debris e.g.

volcanic activity, meteor impacts.

Massive Bedding

FIGURE 4:
INVERSE GRADING

Massive bedding occurs when the beds

are thick and homogeneous (same),
typically more than 10cm thick. There is
few or no visible laminae. Massive
bedding can be of a graded structure or
non-graded structure. They are most
common in sandstones.

Graded Beds are depositional beds.

They form by the erosion, transport and
then deposited. A fluvial diagram shows
the formation of the Normal graded
bed.
FIGURE 6: MASSIVE BEDDING - ARCHES
NATIONAL PARK
The origins of massive beds are difficult
to explain. Some very thick
amalgamated rocks may have been
welded together by successive
sedimentary deposits of sediments
having approximately the same grain
size and characteristics. Another origin
may be as a result of bio-turbation of
the layers by organisms.

Ripples, Dunes and Anti-dunes

FIGURE 5: FORMATION OF A GRADED BED

Turbulent suspensions accelerate
downslope, once it reaches flat sea
region it slows and gradually settle out
due to gravity larger sizes settle first
and then subsequent smaller sizes.
An inversely graded bed occurs
particularly in sediment gravity flow

Ripple marks are one of the commonest

features of sedimentary rocks. They
form in both siliciclastic and carbonate
sediments. Studies have shown that
they usually occur as undulations on a
non- cohesive surface. They are
produced as a result of the interaction
of waves or currents on a sediment
surface. The shapes and sizes of the
ripples greatly vary.
There are three (3) main parameters
that determines the shape of the ripples
(i)
Grain size
(ii)
Flow velocity
(iii)
Flow Depth
Other parameters may include:
(iv)
Fluid viscosity
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

(v)
(vi)

Fluid density
Grain density

Studies have shown that at low fluid

velocities only small ripples form which
range from (0.05-2m in length and
0.005- 0.03 m in height). At increased
fluid velocities larger ripples are formed
ranging from 0.5m to 100m in length
and heights of tens of meters. Smaller
ripples are usually replaced by larger
ones. Early works on ripples have
grouped them into three types:
(i)
Sand waves (low flow, low
height, long wavelength)
(ii)
Dunes (low flow, higher
height, shorter wavelength)
(iii)
Anti-Dunes( high flow, high
height and shorter
wavelength)
Ripples that are formed under
unidirectional flow may be symmetrical
or asymmetrical (meaning that if you
cut down a central line, they are not
identical on both sides) in shape and
are called current ripples. The crest
may be sharp, rounded, or flattened.

FIGURE 7:

A. SYMMETRICAL RIPPLE
B. ASYMMETRICAL

RIPPLE
Waveform which develops under wind
flows are also asymmetrical but the
crests are usually straight.
Crests may have a variety of shapes as
can be seen in Figure 8.

Cross Stratification & Cross

Bedding
Cross stratification is the term for the
internal layers or forests inclined at an
angle to the horizontal dipping
downward in the down current direction
to the surface that bound the sets of
layers of a sedimentary structure. It is
called cross-lamination of the
thickness is less than 10mm and crossbeds if the thickness is greater than
10mm. Cross-beds usually curve at the
bottom edge, becoming tangent to the
lower bed surface.
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FIGURE 8: SHOWS THE IDEALIZED CLASSIFICATION OF RIPPLES

PICTURE TAKEN FROM PETROLOGY OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS 2ND EDITION

Aliyah Ali, Rajiv Dukeran, Marvin Henry, Vitra Ramjattan-Harry

GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

down current direction

during movement hence it is called
climbing-ripple lamination.

FIGURE 9: CROSS BEDDING FORMATION

ABOVE THE MAIN BEDDING
The upper edge of individual inclined
cross-beds is usually at a steep angle
to the overlying bedding plane.
Therefore they are simply classified in
two categories
(i)
Tabular Cross Bedding
having bounding surfaces that
are planar. These are formed
by migration of large scale
two dimensional bedforms.
They range in thickness from
a few 10s of cm to a meter or
more.
(ii)
Trough Cross Bedding
having bounding surfaces that
are curved. These are formed
by migration of three
dimensional Bedforms, either
small ripples that produce
small scale cross bedding or
large ripples that produce
large scale cross bedding.
They range in thickness from
a few 10s of cm and it width
from less than 1 meter to
more than 4 meters.

Ripple Cross-Lamination
Ripple cross-lamination occurs during
the migration of current or combined
flow ripples (i.e. ripples formed by a
combination of wave action and
unidirectional flow, as a result a series
of cross-laminae are formed due to the
rapid laying of one ripple on another
during the sedimentation process which
appear to be climbing or advancing in a

Ripple cross-lamination is characterized

by a variety of distinctive features,
including: unidirectional cross-laminae,
sometimes with drapes (sand laminae)
oriented in the opposite direction;
lensoid and complexly interwoven
cross-sets; irregular, undulatory bases
to cross-sets; and laminae which are
discordant with the external ripple form.

FIGURE 10: CLIMBING RIPPLES AT

ZANSKAR RIVER VALLEY, LADAKH, NW
INDIAN HIMALAYA
Ripple cross-lamination occur in a many
types of environments such as river
deltas, environments of turbidite
sedimentation and fluvial floodplains.

Heterolithic Bedding
This sedimentary structure occurs when
deposits of sand and mud occur
between the layers, it is generated in
environments where current flow varies
considerably. There are two main types
of heterolithic bedding:
(i)
Flaser
(ii)
Lenticular

Flaser Bedding
Flaser bedding is a direct result of
streaks of mud being imbedded
between sets of laminae.

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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

FIGURE 11: FLASER BEDDING SHOWING

STREAKS OF IMBEDDED MUD

They are most dominant in:

fluctuating flows (start/stop
currents)
sand ripples
troughs of ripples are filled with
mud
environment favors sand
deposits (relatively strong
currents)

Lenticular Bedding
Lenticular bedding is produced when
incomplete sand ripples are formed on
muddy substratum and preserved as a
result of deposition of the next mud
layer. Hence they are most favorable in
conditions for deposition and
preservation of mud than for sand. The
sand supply is so small that incomplete
ripples are formed.

by undulating sets of crosslaminae that are both concave-up

( swales) and convex-up (hummocks)
defined by randomly oriented, even
lamination with dip angles and
truncation angles of < 15. Hummocky
stratification forms primarily in silt to
fine sand. Although size grading of
individual laminae is not characteristic,
concentrations of mica and plant
detritus in the tops of many laminae
indicate a shape sorting. Hummocky
beds vary in thickness from a few
centimeters to 5 or 6 m; bed sets may
be tens of meters thick. Hummocky
stratification apparently is formed most
commonly by re-deposition below
normal fair-weather wave base of fine
sand delivered offshore by flooding
rivers and scour of the shoreface or
shoals by large waves. Deposition
involves both fallout from suspension
and lateral tractive flow due to wave
oscillation.

FIGURE 13: HUMMOCKY CROSS

STRATIFICATION SHOWING THE CONVEX UP
AND CONCAVE UP LAYER

Irregular Stratification
FIGURE 12: LENTICULAR BEDDING
SHOWING INCOMPLETE SAND RIPPLES
FORM ON THICK MUD SUBSTRATUM

Hummocky Cross-Stratification
Originally called truncated wave-ripple
laminae. It is formed on the shoreface
and shelf by waves. It is characterized

These structures have been formed

from regular bedding but has been
physically deformed or altered by
sediment slumping, loading, squeezing
or partial liquefaction before or after
deposition. These consists of :
(i)

Convolute bedding - is a
deformation structure formed
by complex folding or intricate
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
crumpling of beds or
laminations into irregular,
generally small-scale
anticlines and synclines. Beds
containing convolute
lamination commonly range in
thickness from about 3 to
25cm. The origin of convolute
bedding is still not thoroughly
understood, but it appears to
be caused by plastic
deformation of partially
liquefied sediment soon after
deposition.

FIGURE 14:
CONVOLUTE BEDDING
(ii)

Ball and Pillow Structures

- Ball and pillow structures are
deformation structures
present in the lower part of
sandstone beds, and less
commonly in limestone beds.
They consist of hemispherical
or kidney-shaped masses of
sandstone or limestone that
show internal laminations. In
some hemispheres, the
laminae may be gently curved
or deformed, particularly next
to the outside edge of the
hemispheres where tend to
conform to the shape of the
edge.

(iii)

Synsedimentary
folds and faults.
They are slump structures.
They are deformation
structures produced by
penecontemporaneous
(immediately after deposition)
deformation which results
from movement and
displacement of
unconsolidated or semiconsolidated sediment,
mainly under the influence of
gravity.

FIGURE 16: FAULTS

AND

FOLDS

(iv)

Flame Structures - Flame

structures are wavy or flameshaped tongues of mud that
project upward into an
overlying layer, which is
commonly sandstone. The
crests of some flames are
bent over or overturned

FIGURE 17: FLAME

STRUCTURE
(v)

FIGURE 15: BALL AND

PILLOW STRUCTURE

Load casts - Load casts are

markings generated by
deformation.
They are bulges which
commonly occur on the soles
of sandstone beds that overlie
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
mudstone or shales, and they
tend to cover the entire
bedding surface. Load casts
can form in any environment
where water-saturated muds
are quickly buried by sand
before dewatering can take
place.

FIGURE 19: DISH AND

PILLAR
(vii)

FIGURE 18: LOAD

CASTS

(vi)

Dish and Pillar - thin, darkcoloured, sub-horizontal, flat

to concave-upward, clayey
laminations that occur
principally in sandstone and
siltstone units.
The laminations are
commonly only a few
millimetres thick, but
individual dishes may range
from 1cm to more than 50cm
wide.
They typically occur in thick
beds where dish and pillar
structures may be the only
structures visible.
They also occur in beds less
than about 0.5m thick, where
they are commonly cut across
primarily flat laminations and
other laminations.

Channels:

Flowing currents over a sift sediment

surface may under certain conditions
erode a channel. These channels are of
various forms and magnitude. Smaller
and larger channels and gullies are
important features in intertidal flat
areas. Channels are generally filled with
sediment that is texturally different,
commonly coarser, than that of the
beds they truncate.

FIGURE 20: CHANNEL - DIFFERENT

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS

(viii) Scour and Fill Structures:

Characterized by a concaveupwards erosion surface cut into the
underlying bed by a highvelocity flow of water, and filled by
a sediment, which is usually coarse,
during the waning stage of the flow
that cut the scour. These resemble
small asymmetrical troughs that are
generally produced on channel
bottoms, with their longer axis
running parallel to the current
direction.
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
LOW SEDIMENT SUPPLY
PRODUCES LAYERS RICH IN ORGANIC
MATTER

Bedding-Plane Markings
Bedding-Plane Markings
FIGURE 21: SCOUR AND FILL STRUCTURE
(ix)

Stromatolites:
Stromatolites are layered
mounds, columns, and sheetlike sedimentary rocks. They
were originally formed by the
growth of layer upon layer of
cyanobacteria, a single-celled
photosynthesizing microbe
that lives today in a wide
range of environments
ranging from the shallow shelf
to lakes, rivers, and even
soils. Cyanobacteria are
prokaryotic cells (the simplest
form of modern carbon-based
life) in that they lack a DNApackaging nucleus. Bacteria,
including the photosynthetic
cyanobacteria, were the only
form of life on Earth for the
first 2 billion years that life
existed on Earth.

Introduction
Bedding-plane markings may occur
either on the tops of beds or the
undersides (soles) of the beds.
Sole Markings are common, consisting
of positive-relief castsand various kinds
of irregular markings, especially on the
soles of sandstones and other coarsergrained sedimentary rocks that overlie
shales. Many sole markings are
generated by a two-stage process that
involves initial erosion of a cohesive
mud substrate to produce grooves or
depressions, followed by an episode of
deposition during which the grooves or
depressions are filled by coarsergrained sediment. After burial and
lithification, the coarser-grained
sediment remains welded or
amalgamated to the base of the
overlying bed. After tectonic uplift,
weathering processes may remove the
softer underlying shale, exposing the
sole of the overlying bed and the sole
markings.
Erosional Markings are are particularly
common on the soles of turbidite
sandstones, but they can form in any
environment where the requisite
conditions of an erosive event followed
quickly by a depositional event are met,
e.g. fluvial, tidal-flat, and shelf
environments.

FIGURE 22: STROMATOLITE SHOWS

INTERNAL LAYERING AND CLOSE-UP OF
LAMINA STRUCTURE. ABUNDANT SEDIMENT
SUPPLY PRODUCES GRANULAR LAMINAE,
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

Tool-formed Erosional
Structures
The erosional event that initiates the
process of forming erosional sole
markings can result from the action of
current-transported objects that
intermittently or continuously make
contact with the bottom. Such contact
may simultaneously deform (compress)
the soft bottom sediment and gouge
depressions or grooves in the sediment.
The tools can be pieces of wood, the
shells of organisms, pebbles or clasts,
or any similar object that can be rolled
or dragged along the bottom by normal
currents or turbidity currents.

asymmetrical in corsssection, with the deeper, broader part

of the mark oriented down-current.
Bounce marks are roughly symmetrical.
Roll and skip marks are formed either
by a saltating tool or by rolling of a tool
over the surface, producing a
continuous track.
Bounce Marks represent the same
process as prod marks, except the
angle of incidence is smaller. In this
case, the object rebounds quickly into
the current and the bounce mark is
relatively asymmetric.

Groove casts
These are the most common toolformed structures. They are elongate,
nearly straight ridges that result from
the infilling of grooves produced by
some object dragged over a mud
bottom in continuous contact with the
bottom. Typical groove casts are a few
millimeters to a few tens of centimeters
wide.

FIGURE 24: FORMATION OF BOUNCE

MARKS

FIGURE 25: BOUNCE MARKS

FIGURE 23: GROOVE CASTS

Bounce, brush, prod, roll and skip

marks
These markings are produced by tools
that make intermittent contact with thr
bottom rather than continuous contact.
Brush and prod marks are positive-relief
features produced by the infilling of
small gouge marks. They are

Brusk Marks are elongated shallow

depressions with a small rounded ridge
of mud at the downcurrent end. They
are formed when a tool reaches the
sediment surface at a low angle and is
again lifted away (the angle of
incidence for brush marks is lower than
in bounce marks).

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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
FIGURE 26: FORMATION OF BRUSH
MARKS

FIGURE 30: FORMATION OF SKIP MARKS

Roll marks occur when this
discontinuous mark is replaced by a
continuous imprint when the object rolls
on the bottom.
FIGURE 27: BRUSH MARKS
Prod marks exhibit an asymmetric
profile with a deeper downstream
depressions than an upstream one.
During transportation by saltation, the
tool strikes the bottom at a higher angel
of incidence and may remain fixed in
the sediment or be transported away by
current after a while. This asymmetric
form gives the direction of the current.

FIGURE 28: FORMATIONPROD MARKS

FIGURE 31: FORMATION OF ROLL MARKS

Current-formed Erosional
Structures
Current can be capable of eroding
depressions in muddy or sandy
substrates independently of the action
tools. The generated elongated
depressions with the steepest and
deepest side of the depression
upstream and the more gentle side
downstream. Filling of such depressions
produces a positive-relief sole marking
with an abrupt upstream end and a
gradually tapering downstream end.
Thus, current-formed structures
generally make good paleocurrent
indicators because they show the
unique direction of current flow.

Flute Casts

FIGURE 29: PROD MARKS

Skip marks characterise traces left by
the tools bouncing at regular intervals
during their transport by saltation.

These are elongated welts or ridges

that have at one end a bulbous nose
that flares out toward the other end and
merges gradually with surface of the
bed. They tend to occur in swarms, with
all of the flutes oriented in roughly the
same direction, but they can occur
singly. All of the flutes on the base of a
given bed are generally about the same
size, but great variation in size from one
bed to another is possible. Flute casts
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can range in width from a few
centimeters to more than 20 cm, in
height or relief from a few centimeters
to more than 10 cm, and in length from
a few centimeters to a meter or more.
The plan-view shape of flutes varies
from nearly streamlined, bilaterally
symmetrical forms to more elongate
and irregular forms, some of which are
highly twisted. Flute casts are
particularly common on the soles of
turbidite sandstones, but they occur
also in sediments from shallow-marine
and nonmarine environments. Less
commonly, they have been reported on
the soles of limestone beds.

FIGURE 33: CURRENT CRESCENTS

Sole Markings Generated by

Deformation: Load Casts

FIGURE 32: FLUTE CASTS

Current Crescents
These are also called obstacle scours
and are particularly common in sandy
beach environments. They occur as
narrow semicircular or hosreshoehsaped troughs, which form around
small obstacles such as pebbles or
shells. They are relatively uncommon in
ancient sedimentary rocks, where they
typically occur as positive-relief casts
on the soles of sandstone beds.

These are rounded knobs or irregular

protuberances on the soles of
sandstone beds that overlie shales.
They do not contain regular form and
orientation of flutes like flute casts.
Load casts tend to cover the entire
surface of the sole and range in size
from a few centimeters to a few tens of
centimeters and the casts on a single
sole may display considerable variation
in size.
Load casts are most common on the
soles of turbidite sandstones. They
originate due to the gravitational
instability arising from the presence of
beds of greater density lying above
beds of lower density and low strength.
The presence of load casts on the bases
of some beds and not on others
appears to reflect the state of the
underlying hydroplastic mud. They
apparently will not form on the bases of
sandstone beds deposited on muds that
have already been compacted or
dewatered prior to deposition of the
sand.
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FIGURE 34: LOAD CASTS

Markings generated by
organisms: trace fossils
These markings are believed to result
from the burrowing, boring, feeding,
resting, and locomotion activities of
organisms, which can produce a variety
of trails, shallow depressions, and open
burrows and borings in muds or other
semiconsolidated sediments.
Four broad categories of biogenic
structures are recognized: (1)
bioturbation structures (burrows, tracks,
trails, root penetration structures)
arising from organic activity that tends
to penetrate, mix, or otherwise disturb
sediment, (2) bioerosion structures
(borings, scrapings, bitings), (3)
biostratification structures
(stromatolites, graded bedding of
biogenic origin), and (4) excrement
(coprolites, such as fecal pellets or fecal
castings). Not all geologists regard
biostratification structures as trace
fossils and these structures are not
commonly included in published
discussions of trace fossils.

FIGURE 35: TRACE FOSSILS

Bedding-plane markings of
miscellaneous origin
A variety of generally small-scale
markings of miscellaneous origin can
occur on the tops of beds: these include
mudcracks, syneresis cracks, raindrop
and hailstone imprints, bubble imprints,
rill marks, swash marks, and parting
lineation.

Mudcracks
Mudcracks are common in modern
environments and may be preserved on
the top or bottom bedding surfaces of
ancient sedimentary rocks as positiverelief fillings of the original cracks. They
can occur in both siliciclastic and
carbonate muds, and indicate subaerial
exposure and desiccation. They may
occur in association with raindrop
imprints and hailstone imprints, which
are craterlike pits with slightly raised
rims that are commonly less than 1 cm
in diameter. These imprints can be
confused with bubble imprints, caused
by bubbles breaking on the surface of
sediments.

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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
preservation potential and
are seldom found in ancient
sedimentary rocks.

FIGURE 36: MUDCRACKS

Syneresis
Syneresis cracks resemble mudcracks
but tend to be discontinuous and vary
in shape from polygonal to spindle
shaped or sinuous. They commonly
occur in thin mudstones interbedded
with sandstones as either positive-relief
features on the bases of sandstones or
negative-relief features on the tops of
the mudstones. Syneresis cracks are
believed to be subaqueous shrinkage
cracks, formed in clayey sediment by
loss of pore water from clays that have
flocculated rapidly or that have
undergone shrinkage ofswelling-clay
mineral lattices owing to changes in
salinity of surrounding water.

FIGURE 38: RILL MARKS

Swash marks
Swash marks are thin, arcuate lines or
small ridges on a beach formed by
concentrations of fine sediment and
organic debris owing to wave swash;
they mark the farthest advance of wave
uprush. They likewise have low
preservation potential.

FIGURE 39: SWASH MARKS

Parting lineation
FIGURE 37: SYNERESIS

Rill marks
Rill marks are small dendritic channels
or grooves that form on beaches by
discharge of pore waters at low tide by
small streams debouching onto a sand
or mud flat. They have very low

Parting lineation, also called current

lineation, forms primarily on the
bedding surfaces of parallel-laminated
sandstones, although it is reported to
form also on the backs of ripples and
dunes. It consists of subparallel ridges
and grooves a few millimeters wide and
many centimeters long, the length of
the ridges is generally 520 times
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
greater than their width. Relief on the
ridges is commonly on the order of the
diameter of the sand grains.

Other Structures
Sandstone dikes
These are tubular bodies of
sandstonethat fill fractures in any kind
of host rock.

FIGURE 40: PARTING LINEATION

Parting lamination
Parting lamination appears to be most
common in deposits composed of
medium sand or coarse silt. Detailed
study of parting lineation by several
investigators has revealed that the
trend of the ridges and grooves is
commonly in good agreement with the
preferred grain orientation in the
deposits, indicating that the linear
fabric of current lineation is parallel to
current flow direction. Parting lineation
occurs in newly deposited sands in
modern beach, fluvial, and tidal-run-off
environments. It is most common in
ancient deposits in thin, evenly bedded
sandstones, probably of shallow-marine
origin. It has been described also in
turbidite sandstones. Its origin is
obviously related to current flow and
grain orientation, probably turbulent
flow in the upper flow regime plane-bed
phase.

They range in thickness from a few

centimeters to 10 meters or more. Most
sandstone dikes lack internal structures
except oriented mica flakes and
elongated particles that may be aligned
parallel to the dike walls. They are
apparently formed from liquefied sand
forcefully injected upward into
fractures, although examples are known
where sand appears to have been
injected downward into fractures.

FIGURE 41: SANDSTONE DIKE

Sandstone Sills
These are sand bodies that have been
injected between beds of other rock.
The sands that form sandstone dikes
and sills must have been in a highly
water saturated, liquefied state at the
time of injection, and injection seems to
have been essentially instantaneous.
Although some sandstone dikes and
sills may have been injected into host
rocks before they were completely
consolidated, others could have formed
much later considerably later than the
time of lithification of the host.
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks

FIGURE 42: SANDSTONE SILLS

Structures of Secondary Origin

FIGURE 43: CONCRETION

A few kinds of structures occur in

sedimentary rocks that clearly postdate
deposition and are thus secondary
sedimentary structures. The majority of
these secondary structures are of
chemical origin, formed by precipitation
of mineral substances in the pores of
semiconsolidated or consolidated
sedimentary rock or by chemical
replacement processes. Some
secondary structures appear to form
through processes involving pressure
and solution.

Nodules

Concretions
These structures are commonly
composed of calcite. Concretions form
by precipitation of minerals around a
center, building up a globular mass.
They range in shape from nearly
spherical bodies, to disc-shaped, coneshaped, and pipe-shaped bodies; and in
size from less than a centimeter to as
much as 3 m. Some concretions may be
syndepositional in origin, growing in the
sediment as it accumulates; however,
most concretions are probably
postdepositional, as shown in many
cases by original bedding structures,
such as laminations, that pass through
the concretions. Concretions are
especially common in sandstones and
shales but can occur in other
sedimentary rocks.

They are small, irregularly rounded

bodies that commonly have a warty or
knobby surface. They generally have no
internal structure except the preserved
remnants of original bedding or fossils.
Common minerals that make up
nodules include chert, apatite
(phosphorite), anhydrite, pyrite, and
manganese. Nodules can be postdepositional and appear to form by
partially or completely replacing
minerals of the host rock rather than by
simple precipitation of mineral into
available pore space.

FIGURE 44: NODULE

Sand Crystals
Sand crystals are very large euhedral or
subhrdral crystals of calcite, barite, or
gypsum that are filled with detrital sand
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
inclusions and appear to form during
Stylolites
diagenesis by growth in incompletely
cemented sands.

Rosettes are radially symmetric, sandfilled crystalline aggregates or clusters

of crystals that somewhat resemble the
shape of a rose. They are commonly
composed of barite, pyrite, or marcasite
and form by cementation processes.

These are suture- or stylus-like seams,

as seen in cross-section, in generally
homogeneous, thick-bedded
sedimentary rocks. The seams result
from the irregular, interlocking
penetration of rock on each side of the
suture. They are typically only a few
centimeters thick, and they are
generally marked by concentrations of
difficultly soluble constituents such as
clay minerals, iron oxide minerals, and
fine organic matter. Stylolites are most
common in limestones, but occur also
in sandstones, quartzites, and cherts.
They are regarded to form as a result of
pressure solution.

FIGURE 45: SAND CRYSTAL

Color Banding
This is a type of rhythmic layering
resulting from the precipitation of iron
oxide in fluid-saturated sediments to
form thin, closely spaced, and
commonly curved layers. Layers having
various shades of red, yellow, or brown
alternate with white or cream layers.
Color banding may resemble primary
bedding or lamination.

FIGURE 46: COLOR BRANDING

F
igure 47: Stylolites

Other Structures
Cone-in-cone structure
This consists of nested sets of small
concentric cones, composed, in most
examples, of calcium carbonate, with
individual cones ranging in height
mainly from 10 mm to 1 cm. Sides of
the cones are slightly ribbed or fluted,
and some have fine striations that
resemble slickensides. Cone-in-cone
structure generally occurs in thin,
persistent layers of fibrous calcite,
commonly in association with
concretions; it is also known in pyrite
concretions.The structure is most
common in shales and marly
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GEOL 2003 Sedimentary Rocks
limestones. Cone-in-cone is an early
diagenetic structure that forms by
growth of fibrous crystals in the
enclosing sediment while it is still in a
plastic state.

Donald J. P.
Swift, Alberto G. Figueiredo, G. L.
Freeland and G. F. Oertel - Hummocky
cross-stratification and megaripples; a
geological double standard
R. H. DOTT, Jr. Department of
Geology and Geophysics, University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
53706 and JOANNE BOURGEOIS
Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington 98195
Sedimentary Structures I.G.Kenyon

FIGURE 48: CONE IN CONE

Sam Boggs, Jr.Petrology of Sedimentary

Rocks

References

Dr. Jrgen Schieber, Room 523,

Geological Sciences-Sedimentary
Structures

Lynn S. Fichter, Department of

Geology and Environmental
Science, James Madison University,
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807 - Basic
Sedimentology, Rock Composition and
Descriptive Classification

JoAnn Thissen , Sedimentary Rock

H.-E. Reineck, I. B. Singh - Depositional
Sedimentary Environments

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