9. Surface Deposits

Surface Deposits

A collective term for various sediments and soils which either formed or were deposited within the last 1-2 million years, and as such have yet to be consolidated into full on lithologic units. These deposits include things like alluvium, aeolian dunes, stream bed deposits, soil horizons, etc. These deposits will be the vast majority of ground cover anywhere on the planet’s land surface. It is notable that these surface deposits coincide with another climactic shift, when the eastern part of the continent, including the Veldt, became much drier. The vegetation of the Vermillion formation died off, and the laterites sealed beneath new surface deposits.