Sign up for Lesson Plans, discounts & more!

Conglomerate
A Sedimentary Rock

Conglomerate is characterized by rounded pebbles cemented together. The pebbles can be most any kind of rock. The material that cements them together is often calcium carbonate but there are other minerals that can act as cement. The pebbles of conglomerate have been rounded by the action of moving water. This could be from a river,  stream or from waves on a long ago beach.

Because they have been transported by water the pebbles may be from a wide variety of rock types. The size of these rock fragments is over 2 mm in diameter. They are often sorted by size.

After the pebbles have been deposited they are compacted by the sediments that pile up on top of them. Over very long periods of time the pebbles become cemented together by other minerals. Silica, calcite, and iron oxides are the most common cementing minerals.

The rounded rock particles in the conglomerate are easily visible to the naked eye.

Sedimentary Rock Examples


Sedimentary Rocks


Share this page:
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

INTERESTED IN MORE? IF SO, YOU MAY WANT TO CHECK OUT OUR OTHER SITES:

fossilicious.com - Our online fossil and mineral rock shop.
fossils-facts-and-finds.com - An educational site about fossils.