See Also

Stratum

In geology Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

 and related fields, a stratum is a layer of rock or soil Soil

Soil is the collection of natural bodies that form in earthy material on the land surface.... 

 with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes it from contiguous layers. Each layer is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another, laid down by natural forces. They may extend over hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the Earth Earth

Earth is the third planet [i] in the solar system [i] in terms of distance from the Sun [i], and the fi ... 

's surface. Strata are typically seen as bands of different colored or differently structured material exposed in cliff Cliff

In geography [i], a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ... 

s, road Road

A road is an identifiable route or path between two or more places.... 

 cuts, quarries Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine [i] from which rock [i] or minerals [i] are ext ... 

, and river River

A river is a large natural waterway [i]. ... 

 banks. Individual bands may vary in thickness from a few millimeters to a kilometer or more.

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In geology Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

 and related fields, a stratum is a layer of rock or soil Soil

Soil is the collection of natural bodies that form in earthy material on the land surface.... 

 with internally consistent characteristics that distinguishes it from contiguous layers. Each layer is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another, laid down by natural forces. They may extend over hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the Earth Earth

Earth is the third planet [i] in the solar system [i] in terms of distance from the Sun [i], and the fi ... 

's surface. Strata are typically seen as bands of different colored or differently structured material exposed in cliff Cliff

In geography [i], a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ... 

s, road Road

A road is an identifiable route or path between two or more places.... 

 cuts, quarries Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine [i] from which rock [i] or minerals [i] are ext ... 

, and river River

A river is a large natural waterway [i]. ... 

 banks. Individual bands may vary in thickness from a few millimeters to a kilometer or more. Each band represents a specific mode of deposition -- river silt Silt

Silt is soil [i] or rock [i] derived granular material [i] of a specific grain size [i]. ... 

, beach sand Sand

Sand is an example of a class of materials called granular matter [i]. ... 

, coal swamp Swamp

A swamp is a wetland [i] that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of ... 

, sand dune Dune

In physical geography [i], a dune is a hill [i] of sand [i] built by eolian processes [i]. ... 

, lava Lava

Lava is molten rock [i] expelled by a volcano [i] during an eruption. ... 

 bed, etc.

Geologists study rock strata and categorize them by the material in the beds. Each distinct layer is usually assigned a "formation" name usually based on a town, river, mountain, or region where the formation is exposed and available for study. For example, the Burgess Shale Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale is a black shale [i] fossil bed named after Mount Burgess [i], close to where it was... 

 is a thick exposure of dark, occasionally fossil Fossil

Fossils are the mineral [i]ized or otherwise preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other ... 

iferous, shale Shale

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock [i] whose original constituents were clay [i]s or mud [i]s. ... 

 exposed high in the Canadian Rockies Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian [i] segment of the North America [i]n Rocky Mountains [i] ... 

 near Burgess Pass. Slight distinctions in material in a formation may be described as "members" or sometimes "beds." Formations are collected into "groups." Groups may be collected into "supergroups."

The stratum is the fundamental unit in a stratigraphic column and forms the basis of the study of stratigraphy.

See also

  • Stratification
  • Important publications in stratigraphy
  • Archaeology Archaeology

    Archaeology, archeology, or archology is the study of human [i] culture [i]s through... 

  • Geologic map
  • Geologic unit
  • Geologic formation

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