Geological formations are groups of rocks with similar characteristics. They can be used to date landscapes, identify mineral deposits, and track geological activity. Formations can be identified by their composition and can be grouped into larger formations or smaller segments. Stratigraphy is the study of rock layers and can be used to create maps of geological formations.
Geological formations are groupings of rocks with similar characteristics. In geology, the term specifically refers to geological strata, while the layman may informally refer to rock outcrops or interesting geological features such as geological formations, although this is not technically correct. The study and identification of formations is a fundamental part of geology and allows geologists to do a number of things, from dating the landscape to identifying useful mineral deposits.
Visualizing geological formations is easiest to do when talking about the landscape in cross section. If a hill is cut in two, layers of geological material will appear. When the materials in a stratum are of similar age or composition, they may be termed a geological formation. These formations can be grouped into large groups or broken up into smaller segments called members, to help geologists describe, explore and study them. When a geologist finds a formation he thinks is new, the information is submitted to the authority that maintains naming conventions in the area, and if the formation is verified as a new discovery, the geologist may have the honor of naming it.
Using information about formations, a geologist can date a landscape. He can also search for matching formations on non-contiguous terrain. Two mesas, for example, may have similar formations that can be juxtaposed, even if the space between them has worn away over time, to learn about the history of the landscape. Formation identification can also allow geologists to track geological activity, such as when highly compressed versions of a known geological formation are found near a tectonic boundary.
Many formations are made up of sedimentary rocks, although other types of rock can also be found in a formation. The type of rock can be important, as it can provide insight into the conditions under which the rock formed and the geological history of an area. Multiple deposits of limestone formations, for example, indicate that an area was once covered by an ocean, while a layer of volcanic flow would suggest that there was volcanic activity in the region at some point in history.
Identifying, describing, and naming geological formations is part of stratigraphy, the study of rock layers in geology. Geologists can prepare maps showing various formations in an area and their relationships to each other and can use these maps to learn about geological history. Sometimes events can be more evident when a map is examined than when people are in the field, because the map distills the information in the landscape into small, useful bits of information.
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