Question

Imagine a mountain stream whose fast-moving water has carried away all grains except for well-rounded pebbles, cobbles, and boulders. If such stream gravel were lithified, it would turn into:

Answer 1

The well-rounded pebbles, cobbles, and boulders in the mountain stream would turn into conglomerate rocks through the process of lithification.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the well-rounded pebbles, cobbles, and boulders in the mountain stream were lithified, they would turn into conglomerate rocks. Lithification is the process by which loose sediment is transformed into solid rock. In the case of the stream gravel, the gravel would be compacted together, and the spaces between the grains would be filled with a natural cement, creating a cohesive rock.

Conglomerate rocks are made up of rounded clasts that are larger than 2 millimeters in size. They can contain a variety of different rock fragments, such as pebbles, cobbles, and boulders, as well as sand and sometimes even finer grained materials. The rocks have a noticeable mixture of grain sizes and are typically cemented by minerals like silica, calcium carbonate, or iron oxides.