Bed (geology)

Beds of sedimentary rock at Parque Geológico do Varvito, Itu, São Paulo, Brazil
Originally horizontal beds of sedimentary rock were tilted by the Alpine orogeny, at Angles, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France

In geology, a bed is a layer of sediment, sedimentary rock, or volcanic rock "bounded above and below by more or less well-defined bedding surfaces".[1] A bedding surface is three-dimensional surface, planar or curved, that visibly separates each successive bed (of the same or different lithology) from the preceding or following bed. Where bedding surfaces occur as cross-sections, e.g., in a 2-dimensional vertical cliff face of horizontal strata, are often referred to as bedding contacts. Within conformable successions, each bedding surface acted as the depositional surface for the accumulation of younger sediment.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds., 2005. Glossary of Geology (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia; American Geological Institute. p 61. ISBN 0-922152764
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DaviesOthers2021a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).