UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks- belong to the group of rocks by accumulation, compaction and consolidation of
sediments. Sedimentary rocks are formed by sediments produced from already existing rocks,
susceptible to weathering actions. One of the responsible for giving us fossils of pre historic
creatures.

Composition:
formed mainly from the
remains of animals and
plants that lived in rivers,
estuaries, on deltas, along
coast-lines and in the sea.

accumulations of loose
sand and muddy detritus,
by evaporation of water
derived from the
and precipitation of the
breakdown of older rocks
soluble minerals within it.
and brought together and
sorted by water or wind

Sedimentary
Rocks

Development:
Clastic Rocks- These Rocks are usually form in
water environments but can also from desert

Weathering (Rock Disintegrate into small pieces called detritus) Transport

(wind, River etc.) Deposition (settling basins, such as contents, along sea
shore and in the deep sea the sediments are came from various rock sources. It is sorted
according to sizes, density and shape of the sediments) Diagenesis (See below)
Diagenesis • The process of
transportation of
loose sediments to a
solid cohesive rock.
Convert sediments
into sedimentary
rocks.

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 1

UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Diagenetic processes include

not only cementation and
compaction but also solution
and redeposition of material,
to produce extremely strong,
or very weak rock.
In which the sediments are
joined by the fillers in
between them.

Cementation

• The conversion of
muddy sediment to
rock is mainly
achieved by the very
small particles of silt
and clay of which
they are mainly
composed being
pressed together by
the weight of
overlying sediment,
Compaction
interstitial water
being squeezed out
and mineral matter
precipitated in the
microscopic network
of pores
• In course of time mud
will become a
coherent mass of
clay, mudstone, or
shale
Chemical Sediments rock- form when the
water components evaporate, leaving dissolved materials
behind. These Rocks are usually form in water
environments and shallow seas or oceans

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 2

UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Organically formed rock- It is formed by the

accumulation of any animal’s plant debris such as shell
and bones. Predominantly made of calcium,
magnesium, carbonates, etc.

Calcium, Carbonate and

etc.. are deposited on the
sea floor and keep on
accumulating

When fully-formed rocks come again into the zone of weathering, perhaps after a long history of
burial, soluble substances are removed and insoluble particles are released, to begin a new cycle of
sedimentation in rivers and the sea.

Properties of Sedimentary Rocks:

• Texture- The texture of a sedimentary rock reflects the mode of sediment deposition,
diagenesis during burial and subsequent weathering when uplifted and exposed at the
surface of the Earth.

• Origin

Chemically
Formed

Group into two which is clastic(fragmental) and non-clastic texture (essentially crystalline)
which chemically and organically formed belong.

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 3

 UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

CONGLOMERATE
• Grain Size-

Coarse grained rocks: average grain

size> 5mm

Medium grained rocks: average

grain size between 5mm and 1mm

Fine grain rocks: average grain size

<1mm

Shale
long time being subject to
weathering

Short time being subject to

finer Coarse
grains grains
• Grain Shape:
weathering

As we move upward it
becomes more spherical
in shape.

As we move right the edges of

particle become more rounded

Note: More rounded in shape indicates the degree of transportation and abrasion.

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 4

UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Two important
Properties of Porosity Packing
sediments • Porosity, n, is defined as
the percentage of void
• In coarse sediments the
packing grains results
space in a deposit (or in a mainly from the range of
rock) grain sizes deposited
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑉𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑠 • In many sandy deposits
• n= X 100
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 (but not all) the grains
accumulate in a
configuration that can be
little altered by later over
burden loads.
• In fine-grained deposits,
especially clays, generally
possess an open structure
when they accumulate
and are susceptible to
considerable change.

Note: Densely packed structure indicates the amount of pressure subjected over the rocks

Fabric of grains- Orientation and arrangement of its grain. Especially in clastic rock they can
be randomly arrange or it can be orient respect into each other.

In imbrication orientation the clast is stacked up and oriented in a specific orientation and
direction. Develops in environment where there is a current of flowing water and air.

Structure
Mechanical Structure:

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UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Stratification It is layered in
sedimentary rocks
which is either
prominently seen or
is seen on close
inspection; result
from changes in
texture or
composition during
deposition
Lamination Layers are very thin
generally less than
1cm

Cross bedding It is a stratified

sedimentary rock, but
various layers lying
one above another
are not parallel

Graded bedding Coarser or heavier

particles is in the
bottom and finer
particle is on top

Rain Prints These are small

irregular crater
shaped depression
seen on fine grained
dry sediments.

Chemical Structure:
Nodular Structure These sedimentary
rocks have irregularly
shaped nodule
projection

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 6

UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Geode Structure Geode is a hallow shell

of rock, in which the
interior is lined with
inwardly projecting
crystals.

Distribution of Rocks-

Sand Stone: A sandy sediment, after natural compaction and cementation has gone on, is
converted into a relatively hard rock. There is no interlocking of the component grains, as in an
igneous rock, and the mineral composition is often simple. Bedding planes and joints develop in
the consolidated rock, and form surfaces of division; these often break the mass into roughly
rectangular blocks and are useful in quarrying.
Siliceous sandstone- with a cement of quartz
or cryptocrystalline silica between the grains of
quartz (Fig. 6.9a), is a very hard rock because
of its high content of silica, which sometimes
exceeds 90% of the whole, and is therefore
resistant to weathering and abrasive to
machines used for excavation

Ferruginous sandstone- is red or brown in

color, the cement of iron oxide (hematite or
limonite) forming a thin coating to the grains
of quartz. Many rocks of Old Red Sandstone
age (Devonian) in Britain, and Triassic
sandstones, have ferruginous cement.

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UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Calcareous sandstone- has a relatively weak

cement of calcite which is easily weathered by
acids in rain-water. The 'Calcareous Grit' of
Yorkshire, of Corallina age, and the Calciferous
Sandstones of Scotland (Lower Carboniferous)
are examples.

Micaceous sandstone, which has a content of

mica flakes, usually muscovite. They may be
dispersed throughout the rock, or arranged in
parallel layers spaced at intervals of a few
centimeters; along these layers the rock splits
easily, and is called flagstone.

Shale- are muds Shales are compacted muds over a thousand of years, and possess a finely
laminated structure by virtue of which they are fissile and break easily into parallel-sided
fragments. Four main constituents clay minerals, quartz, silts and calcium carbonate.
Bituminous shale or oil-shale - is black or dark
brown in color and contains natural
hydrocarbons from which crude petroleum can
be obtained by distillation. It gives a brown
streak and has a 'leathery' appearance, with a
tendency to curl when cut; parting planes
often look smooth and polished. The oil-shales Bituminous Shale
of the Lothians of Scotland provide raw
material for the production of crude oil and
ammonia.
Alum-shale is a shale impregnated with alum
(alkaline aluminum sulphate): the alum is
produced by the oxidation and hydration of
pyrite, yielding sulphuric acid which acts on the
sericite of the shale. a rock that can sleep
peacefully for several hundred million years,
but it can be both acidic, toxic and cost-driving
if its dug up or disturbed in other ways. Alum
Shale also contains a variety of toxic heavy
metals such as cadmium, copper, nickel and
zinc, as well as arsenic, uranium and mercury.
Limestone - Limestones consist essentially of calcium carbonate, with which there is generally
some magnesium carbonate, and siliceous matter such as quartz grains. The average of over 300
chemical analyses of limestones showed 92% of CaC3 and MgCO3 together, and 5% of SiO2
Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 8
UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Shelly Limestone- is a rock in which fossil shells,

such as brachiopods and lamellibranches form
a large part of its bulk. It may be a consolidated
shellsand.

Chalk- form a large part of its bulk. It may be a

consolidated shellsand. These plates are
derived from the external skeletons of
calcareous algae, and are known as coccoliths.

Limestones which contain a noticeable number of substances other than carbonate are named
after those substances, thus: siliceous limestone, argillaceous limestone, ferruginous limestone,
bituminous limestone.
Oolitic Limestone- It IS made up of rounded
grains formed by the deposition of successive
coats of calcium carbonate around particles
such as a grain of sand or piece of shell, which
serves as a 'seed'.

Dolomitic Limestone and Dolomite are rocks

which contain the double carbonate
MgCO,.CaCO,, dolomite (the name is used for
the mineral as well as for the rock); the mineral
occurs as rhomb-shaped crystals. dolomitic
limestone has both dolomite and calcite while
Dolomite is made entirely of the mineral
dolomite

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 9

UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Conglomerate Deposits consisting of boulders,

cobbles, pebbles and granules when cemented
are known as conglomerate; the spaces
between the pebbles are often largely filled
with sand.

Two groups of conglomerates may be

distinguished:
1. the beach deposits, in which rounded
pebbles are well sorted, and commonly
derived from one kind of rock (such as
flint, quartzite).
2. Those conglomerates in which the
pebbles are less well rounded and are
derived from several different sources.
Pebbly layers of this kind are often
found within thick beds of sandstone.
(54) Conglomerate - YouTube
Breccia is the name given to cemented deposits
of coarse angular fragments, such as
consolidated scree.

• Breccias may also be formed by the

crushing of rocks, as along a fault zone.
• The explosive action of volcanoes also
results in the shattering of rocks at a
volcanic vent, and the accumulation of
their angular fragments as they fall to
the ground to form volcanic breccias.

(53) Breccia - YouTube

Geology for Civil Engineers By: JUDY BRAVO TORDILLA, RCE 10