Sorting (sediment)

Sediment consisting of well sorted grains (left) compared with poorly sorted grains (right).
Distribution of grain sizes based on water depth and distance from river mouth.

Sorting describes the distribution of grain size of sediments, either in unconsolidated deposits or in sedimentary rocks. The degree of sorting is determined by the range of grain sizes in a sediment deposit and is the result of various transport processes (rivers, debris flow, wind, glaciers, etc.). This should not be confused with crystallite size, which refers to the individual size of a crystal in a solid. Crystallite is the building block of a grain.