Psammite

Psammite

[sam-ahyt]
''This article is about a type of sedimentary rock. For the work by Archimedes, Psammites, see The Sand Reckoner.

Psammite (Greek Psammos, Sand) is a general term for a sandstone, most often used to describe a metamorphosed rock unit with a dominantly sandstone protolith. An alternative term, more commonly used for unmetamorphosed sediments, is arenite (adj arenaceous). Pettijohn gives the following descriptive terms based on grain size, avoiding the use of terms such as "clay" or "argillaceous" which carry an implication of chemical composition:

Descriptive size terms
Texture Common Greek Latin
Coarse Gravel(ly) Psephite (psephitic) Rudite (rudaceous)
Medium Sand(y) Psammite (psammitic) Arenite (arenaceous)
Fine Clay(ey) Pelite (pelitic) Lutite (lutaceous)

References

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