NDA General Studies Geography Questions Part 1

The word ‘sedimentary’ is derived from the Latin word sediment-um, which means settling. Rocks (igneous,sedimentary and metamorphic) of the earth’s surface are exposed to denudational agents, and are broken up into various sizes of fragments. Such fragments are transported by different exogenous agencies and deposited. These deposits through compaction turn into rocks. This process is called lithification. In many sedimentary rocks, the layers of deposits retain their characteristics even after lithification. Hence, we see a number of layers of varying thickness in sedimentary rocks like sandstone, shale etc
Depending upon the mode of formation, sedimentary rocks are classified into three major groups: (i) mechanically formed — sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, shale, loess etc. are examples; (ii) organically formed — geyserite, chalk, limestone, coal etc. are some examples; (iii) chemically formed — chert, limestone, halite, potash etc. are some examples.