Cross-bedding
Cross-bedding is like when you build a sandcastle at the beach. When you pile up sand, you might notice that there are layers in the sand that slope in different directions. These slopes are called cross-beds.
Now, imagine you're a river, and you're flowing down a channel. As you flow, you pick up small pieces of sand and other stuff, called sediment. When the river flows into a bigger body of water, like a lake or a sea, it slows down and the sediment starts to settle.
The sediment starts to pile up in layers, but sometimes, the river's flow changes direction, and the sediment gets pushed along in a different direction. This creates a slope in the layer that goes in a different direction from the original one.
Over time, as more and more sediment gets piled up, the cross-beds can get bigger and bigger. Exploring rock formations that have cross-bedding can teach scientists how Earth’s landscape used to look like a long time ago.
Now, imagine you're a river, and you're flowing down a channel. As you flow, you pick up small pieces of sand and other stuff, called sediment. When the river flows into a bigger body of water, like a lake or a sea, it slows down and the sediment starts to settle.
The sediment starts to pile up in layers, but sometimes, the river's flow changes direction, and the sediment gets pushed along in a different direction. This creates a slope in the layer that goes in a different direction from the original one.
Over time, as more and more sediment gets piled up, the cross-beds can get bigger and bigger. Exploring rock formations that have cross-bedding can teach scientists how Earth’s landscape used to look like a long time ago.