Transcript Types of Limestone - Hicksville Public Schools / Homepage

Types of Limestone
Limestone
formation in
Mono Lakes,
CA
Limestone Formation
• It is composed chiefly of calcite, CaCO3,
and constitutes about 10 percent of all
sedimentary rocks.
• Limestone may form inorganically or by
biochemical processes. There are many
types of limestone because of the variety
of conditions under which it is produced.
• Coral reefs are examples of limestone produced
in the form of the skeletons of the coral
invertebrate animals.
• Calcium-carbonate secreting algae live with the
corals and help to cement the structures
together.
• Large limestone deposits from ancient reefs are
found inland, such as the exposed limestone in
Guadalupe Mountains National Park in New
Mexico.
• Chalk is another form
of biochemically
produced limestone.
Chalk is a soft,
porous rock made up
of the skeletal parts of
microscopic marine
organisms. It
produces the white
cliffs of Dover,
England.
Coquina
• Coquina is the name given to limestone in
the form of poorly cemented shells and
shell fragments.
Oolitic Limestone
• A form of limestone of
inorganic origin is oolitic
limestone, limestone formed
from small spherical grains
called ooids.
• These grains form on small
particles suspended in
shallow marine waters. The
waters may become
supersaturated with calcium
carbonate which may form
in layers on the seed
particles