052319c

Inversely graded breccia in Bangor Limestone (Mississippian, Serpukhovian, Chesterian), Vulcan Materials quarry near Scottsboro Alabama. Scale in inches.

Breaking Rock

Actually, this rock broke back in the Devonian Period. The white stuff is gypsum, which filled the spaces among the pieces of shattered rock, forming a new fabric and creating an altered rock that is called breccia. The light gray layer underneath is much older. It is Ordovician, and the surface in between represents an immense amount of time. This kind of surface is called an unconformity.

Brecciation in the act

A little bit of breaking going on.