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Glite Dictionary
🪨 Rock type 🙂 Facial appearance 🦴 Bone surface
facies

facies

1 9.9
A type of rock layer that shows the place where it formed
  • noun
  • /ˈfeɪʃiːz/
  • Specialized
: facies
  • The geologist identified a limestone facies that suggested the area was once underwater.

Examples

  • Different facies in the rock layers helped scientists reconstruct the region's ancient environments.

  • By studying the fossil content of each facies, researchers learned about past climate changes.

  • The facies of this rock indicates it formed in a marine environment.

  • Geologists often study the facies to understand past environments.

  • The geologist identified a limestone facies that suggested the area was once underwater.

  • Different facies in the rock layers helped scientists reconstruct the region's ancient environments.

  • The facies of this rock indicates it formed in a marine environment.

Synonyms

rock formation
vsfacies
  • Specialized
14 3.6

A natural shape of rocks made over a long time by wind or water

focuses on characteristic features that show the original environment

Surface Forms

facies singular
facies plural

Etymology

Facies comes from the Latin word facies meaning 'face' or 'appearance', the same root as the English word face. Think of a rock layer's 'face' or look that tells you it was formed in a sea or river. So a geological facies is a body of rock with a particular appearance that reveals where it formed.