lithify

Turn to rock

Lithify is a geological term for the process by which loose sediment becomes solid rock through compaction and ceite (chemical bonding).

Sand lithifies into sandstone; mud lithifies into shale.

The process typically takes millions of years under pressure and chemical change.

The ancient seabed sediments gradually lithified into limestone.

geology

cementation

Mineral-binding of particles

compactionReducing volume through pressure
consolidationCombining into unified whole
sedimentaryFormed from deposited material

stratification · metamorphism · induration · crystallization · recrystallization · precipitation · burial · subsidence · overburden · tectonics

sedimentation

compaction

Reducing volume through pressure

cementationMineral-binding of particles
depositionFormal testimony under oath
strataParallel geological layers

bedding · silt · clay · sediments · delta · alluvium · fluvial · marine · erosion · burial

petrification

hardening

Becoming less soft

solidificationTransition to firm state
rock-hardExtremely firm, inflexible
calcificationMineral hardening of tissue

replacement · rigidification · concretion · petrifaction · preserved

fossilization

preservation

Maintaining something's condition

burialPlacing deceased underground
remainsContinues in place
bonesRigid internal support structure

shells · imprints · amber · trace · mold · cast · compression · carbonization · organisms · paleontology

Opposites

geological transformation direction

lithifyweather

Atmospheric state outdoors

erode · disintegrate · decompose · break down · dissolve

Family

monolithic, Neolithic, lithic, megalithic, Paleolithic, lithified

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