Sedimentary Rocks

Look at these crazy layers of rocks. How were they formed? If we were standing here thousands of years ago, we would be on the ocean floor. We would be swimming with the sharks and the fish and the turtles. That’s right, the level of the ocean has gone up and down over millions of years. This area used to be completely under water. Over time, minerals and dead plants would float to the bottom of the ocean. This layer of stuff on the ocean floor is called sediment. When you make a cake, you put icing on top of a layer of cake, and then more icing, and then more cake. Well, these layers of sediment would lay on top of another, just like the layers of a cake.
Slowly, over millions of years, the weight and pressure would change the sediment into layers of rock. Sediment + time + pressure = sedimentary rock. So, these cliffs are made of sedimentary rock. They are at an angle and squished like a rainbow because other incredible forces of the Earth pushed them up and together. The cliff is exposed because wind and rain have eroded through the rock over time. These cliffs are a reminder that the Earth is always changing, sometimes quickly and sometimes very slowly.


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