Mudstone

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Mudstone

Mudstone (also called mudrock) is a fine grained sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock is one of the three main Rock types . Sedimentary rock is formed by deposition and consolidation of mineral and organic material and from precipitation of minerals from solution....
whose original constituents were clays or mud

MUD

In Online game, a MUD , pronounced /m?d/, is a multi-user real-time virtual world described entirely in text. It combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, interactive fiction, and online chat....
s. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm (0.0025 in) with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals

Clay minerals

Clay minerals are hydrous aluminium Silicate_minerals#Phyllosilicates, sometimes with variable amounts of iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline earths and other cations....
may become aligned, with the appearance of fissility

Fissility (geology)

Fissility refers to the property of mudstones to split along layers, more or less parallel to the plane of bedding, thus becoming described as shales....
or parallel layering.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Mudstone'

Start a new discussion about 'Mudstone'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Mudstone (also called mudrock) is a fine grained sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock

MUD

Clay minerals

Fissility (geology)

Fissility refers to the property of mudstones to split along layers, more or less parallel to the plane of bedding, thus becoming described as shales....
or parallel layering. This finely bedded material that splits readily into thin layers is called shale
Shale

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clay minerals or muds. It is characterized by thin laminae breaking with an irregular curving fracture, often splintery and usually parallel to the often-indistinguishable bedding plane....
, as distinct from mudstone. The lack of fissility or layering in mudstone may be due either to original texture or to the disruption of layering by burrowing organisms in the sediment prior to lithification. Mud rocks, such as mudstone and shale comprise some 65% of all sedimentary rocks. Mudstone looks like hardened clay

Clay

Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired....
and, depending upon circumstances under which it was formed, it may show cracks or fissures, like a sun-baked clay deposit. They can be separated into 5 categories:

Siltstone
Siltstone

Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a composition intermediate in Particle size between the coarser sandstones and the finer mudstones and shales....
- greater than half of the composition is silt-sized particles.
Claystone
Claystone

Claystone is a geological term used to describe a sedimentary rock that is composed primarily of clay-sized particles . It does not refer to those Rock that are laminated or easily split into thin layers ....
- greater than half of the composition is clay-sized particles.
Mudstone
Mudstone

Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Particle size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope....
- hardened mud; a mix of silt and clay sized particles.
Shale
Shale

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clay minerals or muds. It is characterized by thin laminae breaking with an irregular curving fracture, often splintery and usually parallel to the often-indistinguishable bedding plane....
- exhibits lamination or fissility.
Argillite
Argillite

An argillite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillites are basically lithified muds and oozes....
- has undergone low grade metamorphism.