Sedimentary

Description

A rock formed by the accumulation and consolidation of small grains of mineral matter. Sedimentary rocks usually have strata formed by deposition variations. Each layer can contain a mixture of mineral particles eroded from different sources. The particles are often rounded due to wear and abrasion. Examples of sedimentary rocks are shale, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone.

Synonyms and Related Terms

sandstone; limestone; siltstone; greywacke; conglomerate; shale; roca sedimentaria (Esp.); roche sdimentaire (Fr.); rocha sedimentar (Port.); Sedimentgestein (Deut.); sedimentair gesteente (Ned.)

Authority

• Reed Kay, Reed Kay, The Painter's Guide To Studio Methods and Materials, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1983

• Ralph Mayer, Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998