Processes

Sedimentation

Also Known As Deposition

Citation Formats

General Reference

Earth and Environment Atlas. "Sedimentation." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/processes/sedimentation.

APA Style

Earth and Environment Atlas. (n.d.). Sedimentation. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/processes/sedimentation

BibTeX

@misc{earthandenvironmentatlas-sedimentation,
  author = {Earth and Environment Atlas},
  title = {Sedimentation},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/processes/sedimentation},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The settling of transported particles out of water, ice or air, building deltas, floodplains, dunes and the layered seafloor deposits that harden into sedimentary rock. It is the constructive half of the cycle erosion begins, and the layers it lays down, one on another, are the pages the stratigraphic record is written on.

Facts

Timescale

Settling happens in hours to seasons; burying deposits deep enough to become rock takes millions of years 1

Driving Force

The loss of energy in the water, wind or ice transporting sediment, which allows particles to settle out under gravity. 1

Resulting Feature

Deposits sediment in layers whose grain size and structure record the energy and environment of the transporting medium, from riverbeds to the deep ocean floor. 1

Significance

The layering produced by sedimentation is the basis of stratigraphy and the principal way geologists read past environments from the rock record. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections