unconformity









unconformity


noun, plural un·con·form·i·ties.

  1. lack of conformity; incongruity; inconsistency.
  2. Geology.
    1. a discontinuity in rock sequence indicating interruption of sedimentation, commonly accompanied by erosion of rocks below the break.
    2. the interface between such strata.

noun plural -ties

  1. lack of conformity
  2. the contact surface between younger and older rocks representing a discontinuity in the geological record. Most commonly it represents an erosional surface

n.c.1600, from un- (1) “not” + conformity. Geological sense is from 1829.

  1. A surface between successive strata representing a missing interval in the geologic record of time, produced either by an interruption in deposition or by the erosion of depositionally continuous strata followed by renewed deposition. An unconformity is a type of discontinuity.
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