Sedimentary Environments

Lab 12 Sed. Dep. Env. Answer Pages Study the sedimentary environments in the images below and answer the questions associated with the images. Write your answers on the blanks provided at the end of the lab.

Answer the questions in the blanks provided on the following pages to make it easier. Figure A. Death Valley National Park, CA 1. What are the prominent depositional features formed at the mouths

of the canyon? 2. Describe the textural characteristics of the sediment forming the

features named above. 2. What other non-marine features could exist on the flat terrain in front

of the range?

Check tips on how to do your homework-help-services/

Figure B. Navajo Sandstone in Zion NP, UT

3. What type of bedding does this represent? Sedimentary Environments

4. Was this sandstone deposited in a non-marine (terrestrial)

or marine environment?

5. Was the sandstone deposited by fluvial or aeolian processes?

Figure C. Bedding surface from Capital Reef, UT

6. What type of markings are present?

7. Assuming the rock is marine in origin, what do these

markings indicate about the depth of water in which in the sediment was deposited?

Figure D. Cracked surface in Alaska 8. What type of markings are present? 9. Assuming the rock is marine in origin, what do these

markings indicate about the depth of water in which in the sediment was deposited

Figure E. Conglomerate in Chiang Rai, Thailand 10. What type of grain shape and particle sorting

are shown here? 11. What is a possible depositional environment?

Give reasons for your interpretation. Figure F. Sandstone Zion NP, Utah 12. What type of bedding is present? 13. Was this sandstone deposited in a nonmarine

(terrestrial) or marine environment? Was the sandstone deposited by fluvial or aeolian processes? If in water, in shallow or deep water? Explain how you know.

Figure G. Breccia, Lake Mead, Nevada 14. Describe particle color, texture, and sorting? 15. What was the depositional environment

responsible for creating this rock? Sedimentary Environments

Name: ___________________________________

Lab 7: Sedimentary Environments (macro scale) Record your answers to the questions about the images above here:

Figure A

1 __________________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________________

Figure B

4 __________________________________________________________

5 __________________________________________________________

6 __________________________________________________________

Figure C

7 __________________________________________________________

8 __________________________________________________________

Figure D

9 __________________________________________________________

10 __________________________________________________________

Figure E

11 __________________________________________________________

12 __________________________________________________________

Figure F

13 __________________________________________________________

14 __________________________________________________________

Figure G

15 __________________________________________________________

16. __________________________________________________________

General Questions

16. What general rock and rock feature would indicate a long duration of deposition in an arid environment? __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

17. What type of environment would a breccia with dark grey and/or purple rock fragments likely be from? __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

18. What is the probable depositional setting and source of a pure white quartz sandstone?

__________________________________________________________________________________

19. What do bidirectional ripples indicate about the depositional environment of a rock? __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

20. What would the sedimentary environment be for oolitic sediments?

__________________________________________________________________________________

21. How would the sediments differ from a playa lake to that of a freshwater lake?

__________________________________________________________________________________

22. List three environments that ripples can form in:

__________________________________________________________________________________

23. List two ways cross bedding can occur:

__________________________________________________________________________________

24. How does a conglomerate form? Is there more than one way? If so how?

__________________________________________________________________________________

What are the prominent depositional features formed at the mouths of canyons in Death Valley (Figure A)?,
What type of bedding is shown in the Navajo Sandstone (Figure B) and was it deposited in a marine or non-marine setting?,
What type of markings are present in the bedding surface from Capitol Reef (Figure C) and what do they indicate about water depth?,
What depositional environment is likely for the conglomerate in Chiang Rai (Figure E)?,
What general rock feature indicates long-duration deposition in an arid environment (General Question 16)?

Newsletter Updates