An olistostrome is a

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

deposit composed of a chaotic mass of

heterogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

material, such as blocks and mud, known as olistoliths, that accumulates as a semifluid body by

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

gravity sliding or

slumping Slumping is a technique in which items are made in a kiln by means of shaping glass over molds at high temperatures. The slumping of a pyrometric cone is often used to measure temperature in a kiln. Technique Slumping glass is a highly techni ...

of the

unconsolidated Soil consolidation refers to the mechanical process by which soil changes volume gradually in response to a change in pressure. This happens because soil is a two-phase material, comprising soil grains and pore fluid, usually groundwater. Whe ...

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand ...

s. It is a mappable stratigraphic unit which lacks true bedding, but is intercalated amongst normal bedding sequences, as in the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...

basin of central

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The term olistostrome is derived from the Greek ''olistomai'' (to slide) and ''stroma'' (accumulation).Ernesto Abbate, et al., "Olistostromes and olistoliths", ''

Sedimentary Geology ''Sedimentary Geology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in sc ...

'', 4 (1970), 521-557. Olistostrome Melange Italy

References

Sedimentary rocks {{Geology-stub

See also

References