the.com/mudstone
Mud that gave up moving and committed to a geological career.
means A fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from compressed and hardened mud or clay, lacking the layered splitting of shale.
from Straightforward compound of 'mud' plus 'stone' — no hidden story here. 'Mud' traces back to Germanic roots (related to German 'Modder'), while 'stone' comes from Old English 'stan.' The word simply names the rock for what it is: mud that has lithified, pressed and dried over time until it earned the second half of its name.
- grain size
- particles too small to feel gritty
- fissility test
- splits in sheets, unlike blocky shale cousins
- fossil host
- preserves soft tissue better than sandstone ever could
- formation time
- needs still water, decades of patient settling