Interpretation of Landforms, Lithology & Structure of Sedimentary Rocks

S.S. Nayak

Lithological Interpretation

Bedding Tone Texture Drainage characteristics Drainage density Landforms Vegetation

Classification of Sedimentary Rocks

Carbonates + Evaporites

Limestone, Dolomite, Rock salt, etc

Intermediate rocks

Coarse Clastics

Conglomerate, Sandstone, Quartz-arenite, etc

Clay, Shale, etc

Fine Clastics

LIMESTONE

Water soluble

Internal drainage, Sink holes

Widely spaced External drainage SANDSTONE

Close spaced External drainage, SHALE

Horizontally Bedded Sandstone

Topograhy: Bold, massive, flat topped hills of equal elevation
Nearly vertical hill sides

Drainage
Coarse textured, joint controlled modified dendritic Often rectangular

Erosion
Few gullies, V-shaped if present in residual soil

Photo tone
Light due to light colour of the rock In humid areas dense tree causes dark tone

Vegetation
Commonly forested in humid while sparse in arid

Horizontally Bedded Sandstone

Horizontally Bedded Shale

Topograhy: Minutely dissected with steep stream/gully in arid climate
Gently to moderately sloping softly rounded valleys & hills

Drainage
Fine textured, dendritic patten with gently curving streams in arid climate Medium to fine in humid climate

Erosion
Gullies have gently rounded cross section in humid But sharp angular in arid terrain

Photo tone
Generally dark tone

Vegetation
Barren in arid except for desert vegetation Intensely cultivated in humid areas.

Arid

Horizontally Bedded Shale

Humid

Horizontally Bedded Limestone

Topograhy: Karst topography in humid areas
Forms table rocks in arid climate

Drainage
Internal drainage in humid climate Angular drainage with medium to fine density in arid terrain

Erosion
Chemical weathering in humid climate Erode very little and forms cap or table rocks in arid terrain

Photo tone
Varies from light to dark depending on cover

Vegetation
Barren in arid except for desert vegetation Dense vegetation resulting from clay soil in humid areas.

Limestone

Limestone

Sink holes in Limestone

Interbedded Sedimentary Rocks Flat Lying

Topograhy:
Terraced hillsides with hilltops at same elevation Slopes more gradual in humid while sharp in arid terrain Drainage Dendritic medium to coarse in humid Dendritic medium to fine in arid Photo tone

Varies depending on rock type on cover

Vegetation varies depending on climate and lithology

Thick Interbedded Flat-Lying Sedimentary Rocks

Thin Interbedded Flat-Lying Sedimentary Rocks

PLATEAU MESA - BUTTE

Escarpment

Thickly bedded

Interbedded Sedimentary Rocks Flat Lying

Thinly bedded

Thinly bedded flat-lying interbedded sedimentary rocks

Interbedded Sedimentary Rocks Tilted

Topograhy: Series of parallel ridges with alternating valleys Slopes and ridges are smooth in humid while sharp in arid terrain Drainage Trellis and dendritic Coarse in humid terrain and fine in arid terrain

Photo tone - Varies depending on rock type on cover

Vegetation - Varies with Climate and the lithology

Interbedded Sedimentary Rocks Tilted

Landforms

When the resistant strata are inclined the ridges eroded from the strata are asymmetrical in cross section

The slope which has the same direction as the dip is usually a consequent or resequent or dip slope
The slope opposed to the dip is obsequent slope Where dip is less than 30o the obsequent slope is steeper than resequent and the landform is described as Cuesta With dip becoming steeper, the ridge becomes symmetrical and are called hogs back

Tilted Interbedded sequence of sand stone and marl giving rise to a series of parallel ridge and valley topography

Tilted Interbedded Sedimentary Rocks

Hogback

Flatirons Steeply dipping beds indicate direction of dip

Interbedded Tilted Sequence Sandstone and Shale

Criteria for Relating Topography & Structure

Homoclinal ridges with infacing escarpments mark anticline Homoclinal ridges or plateau like areas with outfacing escarpments mark syncline Homoclinal ridges of a plunging anticline will converge in the direction of plunge Homoclinal ridges of plunging syncline converge in the direction opposite to plunge

Alternating homoclinal ridges and valleys develop where there is a series of alternating strong and weak beds on the flanks of anticline & synclines
The noses of anticlines are smooth and rounded The noses of synclines are abrupt, narrow & scarp like Anticlinal mountains are typically of rounded summit and smooth Synclinal mountains may vary from elongate narrow ridges to broad plateau like expanses

Criteria for Relating Topography & Structure

Adjustment of topography to fold structure

Differential degradation of strong and weak beds cause the topography to show the position and outlines of folds Plunging anticlines and synclines give rise to a zigzag pattern in the ridge

Anticlinal Fold

Antiformal closure

A syncline

Note: 1. Dipping beds, escarpments facing outside, Flatirons, Radial (centripetal) drainage 2. A Hogback (H) in the background with displacements along several faults

Recognition of faults

Straight line segments of stream courses Alignment of lakes and streams Alignment of vegetation Conspicuous changes in photographic tone, drainage, or texture across a linear feature Alignment of topography, including saddles or straight scarps Horizontal or vertical offsets of beds or recognisable rock units

Presence of fault scarps and faultline scarps

Low angle faults are more difficult to interpret dicordance of structures within rock unit with strongly curved or irregular traces

Recognition of faults

Recognition of faults

Recognition of faults

Recognition of faults

Features Diagnostic of fault scarp

Presence of small scarps, sag ponds, or basins and small wedge shaped hills in discordant relationship with each other It a scarp faces upstream and intersects a transverse valley to form a lake at its base Small alluvial fans at the base of a scarp indicates sinking of a fault block Displacement of older topographic surface Displacement of Recent or Pleistocene deposits Warped terraces steep slope or reversal Scarp across alluvial deposits

Unconformities
A surface of erosion or non-deposition
1. Angular unconformity: An unconformity where the attitudes of the rocks on opposite sides are not parallal 2. Disconformity: The attitudes of the rocks on opposite sides are parallel essentially covers a large area 3. Local unconformity: Similar to disconformity but of local extent 4. Non conformity: Where the older rock is of plutonic or metamorphic origin

Angular Unconformity

The older folded sequence abuts against the younger horizontally disposed sequence

Angular Unconformity

Non-Conformity