Segment One: The Stories Rocks Tell
This video segment shows how sedimentary rocks reflect evidence of their origin. The video begins by illustrating deposition, compaction and cementation, the processes that create sedimentary rock. Students learn about the environmental conditions that produce particular rock types. Visiting swamps that produce shale, peat and coal, students observe signs of environmental conditions including raindrop impressions and mud cracks. Students learn that, in coastal regions, coquina is the result of waves crushing shells on a beach and that coral reefs are the result of lime secretion. Finally, students learn about conditions required for preservation of fossils. This video segment ends by encouraging students, like geologists, to read the stories preserved in sedimentary rocks.