EQ: What can we theorize about geologic history from the rock record?
EVIDENCE
Sedimentary
Sandstone
Sedimentary
Shale
Sedimentary
Limestone
Sedimentary
Conglomerate
Sedimentary
Fossils
Sedimentary
Coal
Intrusive
igneous
Extrusive
igneous
Metamorphic
PROBABLE
SIGNIFICANCE
THEORETICAL ENVIRONMENT OF
FORMATION
Medium sediments
High energy
Lithification process
(burial, uplift, erosion)
Marine: beach or shallow water near
shore or
Nonmarine: sand dune near beach or arid
desert
Nonmarine: river
Marine: offshore medium depth or
Nonmarine: river floodplain or
Nonmarine: lake
Clay sediment
Low energy
Lithification
CaCO3 deposit
Warm, shallow,
agitated water
Lithification
Variable sediments
Variable energy
Abrasion process
Lithification
Preserved ancient
life
Lithification ?
Marine: near shore, low latitude, warm,
shallow water, agitated by wave action
Organic remains
Lithification
Nonmarine: forest, swamp
Frozen molten
Earth material
Slow cooling deep
within Earth
Frozen molten
Earth material
Rapid cooling at or
near surface
Dense, crystalline,
foliated
High heat and/or
pressure
Intrusion of magma during plate boundary
interaction (mountain-forming)
Nonmarine: river channels
Marine and nonmarine organisms
Volcanic eruptions during plate boundary
interaction (mountain-forming)
Deep burial or intense compression
during plate boundary interaction
(mountain-forming)