geological strata
Earth's layered history
Geological strata are layers of rock or sediment deposited over time, each representing a distinct period in Earth's history.
Geologists read these horizontal bands like pages in a book, with older layers typically lying beneath younger ones.
The singular is stratum: The fossil was found in a stratum dating to the Jurassic period.
The term extends metaphorically to any layered system: the social strata of Victorian England.
- rock layersSuperimposed geological deposits
- layeringForming successive strata
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- sedimentsParticles that settle below
angular unconformity · sandstone · outcrop · Grand Canyon · erosion · superposition · cross section · facies · clay · radiometric dating · fossil record · correlation · isotopes · deep time · earth history · compressed · relative dating · bedrock
geological stratamagma
Molten rock underground
molten rock · lava · mantle · molten core · asthenosphere
geological stratavolcanic eruption
Explosive geological discharge
pluton · batholith · magma chamber · metamorphic rock · lava flow
geology, stratum, stratify, stratification, geologic, geological