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?
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
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6 __________________________________________________________
Figure C
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8 __________________________________________________________
Figure D
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10 __________________________________________________________
Figure E
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12 __________________________________________________________
Figure F
13 __________________________________________________________
14 __________________________________________________________
Figure G
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16. __________________________________________________________
General Questions
16. What general rock and rock feature would indicate a long duration of deposition in an arid environment? __________________________________________________________________________________
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17. What type of environment would a breccia with dark grey and/or purple rock fragments likely be from? __________________________________________________________________________________
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18. What is the probable depositional setting and source of a pure white quartz sandstone?
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19. What do bidirectional ripples indicate about the depositional environment of a rock? __________________________________________________________________________________
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20. What would the sedimentary environment be for oolitic sediments?
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21. How would the sediments differ from a playa lake to that of a freshwater lake?
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22. List three environments that ripples can form in:
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23. List two ways cross bedding can occur:
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24. How does a conglomerate form? Is there more than one way? If so how?
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What are the prominent depositional features formed at the mouths of canyons in Death Valley (Figure A)?,
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What type of bedding is shown in the Navajo Sandstone (Figure B) and was it deposited in a marine or non-marine setting?,
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What type of markings are present in the bedding surface from Capitol Reef (Figure C) and what do they indicate about water depth?,
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What depositional environment is likely for the conglomerate in Chiang Rai (Figure E)?,
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What general rock feature indicates long-duration deposition in an arid environment (General Question 16)?