| What is geology? |
What is Geology? |
| Defined broadly, geology is the study of rocks. |
Broadly defined, Geology is the study of rocks. |
| Geology has a number of topics: palaeontology (study of fossils), Plate Tectonics (Movement of the plates), Erosion (breaking down of rocks), and a whole number of different topics. |
The field of geology includes an assortment of topics, for instance: paleontology (the study of fossils), Tectonics (movement of continental plates), Erosion (how rocks are broken down), as well as several others.
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| The aim is to give you basic knowledge of geology. |
The aim here is to provide you with a basic understanding of geology. |
| To know more, try looking round your local library and have a look at the References and External Links. |
To find out more, visit your local library or have a look through the References and External links listed below. |
| Sediments (such as teeth, rocks and sand) settle on the bottom of a riverbed. |
Sediment (such as teeth, rocks and sand) settles on the bottom of a riverbed. |
| Over millions of years, these sediments compress together to form sedimentary rock. |
Over millions of years, the sediment is compressed together to form sedimentary rock. |
| The sediments may have got to the riverbed in a number of ways: they could be from eroded cliffs, and gradually layers got deposited ('dumped' in one place by the forces of the currents) and compressed over time. |
The sediment on the riverbed may come from a variety of sources, such as eroded cliffs, and gradually the layers will be deposited (or 'dumped' in one place) by the currents and compressed over time. |
| Sedimentary rocks are layered into strata, with the newest rocks above the older. |
Sedimentary rocks are layered into strata, with the newest rocks sitting above the older. |
| If a really strong force (such as movement of the plates) occurs, the layers, or strata, could be ordered differently: for example, the rocks may be older the further along the cliff you walk opposed to the height of the cliff. |
If a really strong force (such as plate movement) occurs, the layers, or strata, may be ordered differently: for example, the rocks may be older further along the cliff, regardless of its height. |
| Different sediments form different sedimentary rocks: for example, sandstone is formed from sand sediments and mudstone is formed from mud sediments. |
Different sediment forms different sedimentary rock: for example, sandstone is formed from sand deposits, while mudstone is formed from mud deposits. |
| Sedimentary rocks tend to be the 'weakest' of the three, as Igneous and Metamorphic rocks both undergo extreme pressures to form. |
Sedimentary rocks tend to be weaker than Igneous and Metamorphic rocks, which require extreme pressures to form. |
