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The glacier shown in the picture above is in the process of carving a wide
valley between the mountains.
Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rock is made up of pieces of other rock. Sedimentary rock often
contains fossils.
Weathering can decompose all types of rock into tiny pieces. These pieces all
together are called sediment. Sediment is carried away by wind or water and
is later deposited in another place. The sediment is buried and pressed
together. Eventually the sediment is cemented together, resulting in
sedimentary rock.
Sedimentary rock is soft and will often have layers or bands across it; it will
often contain fossils; the rocks will tend to scrape and crumble easily.
Some sedimentary rock, like the piece shown on the left, has large pieces of
other kinds of rock embedded in it. Other types of sedimentary rock have
horizontal "stripes" that show where different layers of silt were deposited one
on top of another.
Some common types of sedimentary rock include sandstone, limestone,
chalk, rock salt, dolomite and shale.
Sandstone is made of sand that has compacted together after many layers of
sediment have been piled on top.
Limestone forms most often from the sediment that collects on an ocean
floor. The primary components in limestone come from tiny pieces of broken
sea shells and coral that collect after the animals that lived in them have died.
Fossils of sea creatures are often found in limestone.
Fossils
Fossils are traces of past organisms preserved in the Earth's crust. They may
include actual remnants of structures or just imprints of structures. Fossils are
very important for science. Scientists study fossils to learn about the history of
the Earth's surface, climate, and life forms.
Fossil Formation
Fossils are most commonly found in sedimentary rock, which forms as
layers of material settle upon each other, press together, and harden over
time.
As time passes, new layers form upon the older layers. This means that as
time passes, fossils are buried deeper and deeper in the ground.
Therefore, fossils found in lower layers of sedimentary rock are older than
fossils found in upper layers of sedimentary rock.
The image to the right shows many layers of rock which contain fossils.
Some of the oldest layers contain fossils of organisms that appear similar to
fish. This would suggest that a long time ago, this area was covered in water.
The clues found in fossil layers provide valuable information about how
Earth's organisms and the Earth itself have changed over time.
the roles that organisms played within communities and food chains
the appearance of the organism and its structures, including information about
bone structure and organs
Organisms from the past may be similar to organisms that are living today.
Modern dragonfly