Sedimentary Facies

SEDIMENTARY FACIES_ Dr.
Hrishikesh Baruah Page 1 (2015)
SEDIMENTARY FACIES
Definition:
Facies implies variation both in lithologic and biological aspects
that a rock type undergoes when traced laterally in an area or bed.
It was Swiss Geologist Amanz Gressly who realized this reality for
the first time during geological investigations in the Jura Mountains
in 1838.
The Jura Mountain area is a classic one for study of laterally
developed shifts in the character of deposition. Gressly classified
vertical differences as groups, formations and he designated lateral
changes as FACIES.
Since about 1930 increasing awareness of lateral lithologic
variation in stratified rocks and more critical interest in lateral
facies relationships and the problems that they present developed
in America and amongst stratigraphers and palaeontologists. At that
time, facies was considered from different viewpoints.
Concept of Facies
Concepts on facies may be drawn out from the works of certain
workers like Werner, Wiliam Smith and Janmes Hutton.
1. Wernarian Concept: Dr. Werner studied the Jura
Mountains in 1944. The most interesting fact that he
discovered was the persistence in rock types displayed by
each strata when traced laterally.
2. Concept of Catastrophism: The discovery of the law of
‘Faunal Succession’ by William Smith was generalized by
D’Orbingy and others into the doctrine of catastrophism.
According to it each fauna was created and distributed
throughout the world and then destroyed giving place to
another newly created, more complex fauna.
SEDIMENTARY FACIES_ Dr. Hrishikesh Baruah Page 2 (2015)
For eg., proboscidea was first of the size of a pig. The animal
went through a series of genetical transformations with time
to reach the size of the present elephant.
1. Concept of Uniformity: James Hutton’s concept of
‘Uniformitarianism’ is still relevant today. The way
weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition takes place
today is no different from way it took place in the past.
4. Walther’s law of correlation of facies
The following related concepts can be applied to conceptualise the
concept of facies more distinctly. They are:
1. The appearance of the rock body.
2. The composition of the rock body.
3. The environments recorded in the rock body.
Types of facies are:

1. Lithological facies
2. Metamorphic alterations
3. Biologic facies
4. Structural facies
5. Stratigraphic facies
6. Temporal sequences
7. Genetic facies
8. Geographic facies
9. Environmental facies
10. Tectonic facies
Types of Facies
Lithologic Facies
The most interesting type of facies to be studied vividly across the
globe is lithofacies. This is because lithiologic characters are
objective.
Lithofacies may be considered: (i) without regard to their relations
to each other, (ii) as a variation in vertical sequence and (iii) as a
lateral variation.
The rocks are differentiated on the basis of some objective
characteristics. Rocks of similar composition and appearance have
been distinguished as a particular facies regardless of where they
may occur or of their relations to other rocks.
The lithologic aspects are controlled by the lithotopes or the
combination of lithotopes of which the lithofacies is composed of.
Biologic facies
Biologic facies or biofacies are also objective facies as they are
solely based on objective characters. They may be defined as:
1. Strictly biologic - consisting of organisms of associated
flora and fauna.
2. Geologic – rocks characterized by their organic content
without respect to litho features.
Biofacies are important in palaeoecology, palaeontology and do not
serve much in stratigraphy except in correlation.
Biofacies may be considered with or without reference to each
other. Biofacies is dependent upon biotope. Biotope is an area in
which the ecologic conditions and organisms adapted to them are
uniform. The term is useful in facies analyses to designate faunal
and floral units which may be interpreted environmentally.
Biofacies are made up of one or more biotopes which differ in

bioaspects from the laterally contemporaneous fossillic zone.
Stratigraphic Facies
Stratigraphic Unit Stratigraphic Facies

Rock Unit Lithofacies
Biostratigraphic Unit Biofacies
Time Rock Unit Temporal Facies
The materialistic boundaries of lithofacies and biofacies may be
demarcated stratigraphically, but temporal facies is independent.
Stratigraphic facies need not correspond with any formally
recognized Stratigraphic unit for eg., a Stratigraphic unit may be
vertically separated into different parts, with each part differing
from the nearby ones in some or the other aspects. If no such
features are there, the unit may be sliced horizontally where each
slice constitute some arbitrary fraction of the whole unit’s
thickness.
Structural Facies
Stratigraphic structures like bioherms are also a kind of facies since
they differ from the surrounding rocks in much the same way as the
stratigraphic facies differ.
Structural facies however are not likely to be such well marked
division of ordinary Stratigraphic units because they may be
completely enclosed within a unit or they may continue from one
unit to another. Therefore the relations between such structural
facies and inter-biothermal facies are not so regular or simple as the
relations between adjacent or successive stratigraphic facies.
Environmental Facies
Several kinds of environmental facies have been distinguished and
they are the inferential facies since inference have to be made about
the environment. Inferences are made based on the objective
features. Thus, a littoral facies and a geosynclinal facies will
indicate a littoral and geosynclinal environment.
This approach helps in two fold analyses for eg., a sandstone facies
is differently classed from the adjacent shale facies based on
lithology and a sandstone facies also indicates a near shore shallow
water environment. The environment concept in facies is important
because it directs attention to interpretation.
Genetic Facies
They are highly interpretative and even less objective than
environmental facies. In this case, the genesis of a facies is taken
into consideration rather than the environment.
Tectonic Facies or Tectofacies

A tectofacies is a group of strata of different tectonic aspects from
the laterally equivalent strata. Their characteristics indicate
deposition under a common tectonic environment as for eg., a
succession of greywacke, siliceous shale, chert, jasper etc form a
geosynclinal facies. Similarly a succession including
orthoquartzite, clay shale, and fragmental limestone constitute a
shelf tectotope.
The tectofacies yields evidence of dominant tectonism in the area
during the period of deposition of a particular unit.
Geographic Facies
The identification of rock facies only with modern geographic areas
rarely has much meaning. These facies are more or less similar to
tectonic facies.
Factors influencing Facies changes:

1. Physical Factors:
Provenance
Distance from the source
Climate
Depth of water
Rate of sedimentation
Boundary conditions of the specific environment
Burial under physico-chemical dynamics of the depositional
media
2. Biologic Factors:
In some areas such as reef and inter-reef areas, biologic factors
control the environment.
3. Post-depositional Factors:
Amongst the post-depositional factors influencing the facies are
diagenesis, authigenetic mineralization including the formation of
some minerals like glauconite, pyrite and enlargement of quartz

vein.
Indian examples of Facies
1. Vindhyan Supergroup
2. Assam-Arakan Basin

Sedimentary Facies

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SEDIMENTARY FACIES_ Dr.

Hrishikesh Baruah Page 1 (2015)

Types of facies are:

Biofacies are made up of one or more biotopes which differ in

Stratigraphic Unit Stratigraphic Facies

Tectonic Facies or Tectofacies

Factors influencing Facies changes:

some minerals like glauconite, pyrite and enlargement of quartz

Indian examples of Facies

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