Bedrock
Bedrock is the native
consolidated rock underlying the
Earth's surface. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered
unconsolidated rock in the basal
subsoil. The term implies that the rock lies in beds, or
strata. Under any given location on the surface of the planet, rock will be found.
The term bedrock may be somewhat misleading, since in many locations, the bedrock may change over a short distance, or the technical bedrock may be a thin stratum overlying quite different rock.
A
geologic map of an area will usually show bands of differing rock type exposure, i.e. rock that would be exposed at the surface if all
soil were removed. The different rock strata or layers that are indicated may be a result of either nonparallel (sloping) surface erosion at the edges of flat strata
or normal surface erosion of tilted strata that has removed the upper portions of higher layers.
*
geology*
igneous rock*
metamorphic rock*
rock (geology)*
sedimentary rock*
stratigraphy*
topography
