• 13 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Rock Layers Labeled

A block of ground cut through twice: six flat layers, then layers that were bent, worn down, broken and covered.

Rock Layers Labeled

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Oldest layer
  2. Youngest layer
  3. Sandstone
  4. Shale
  5. Limestone
  6. Conglomerate
  7. Fossil
  8. Tilted layers
  9. Fold
  10. Fault
  11. Igneous intrusion
  12. Unconformity
  13. Lava flow

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the rock cycle

All 13 parts on the diagram

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Flat layers 7

  1. Oldest layer The bottom layer was laid down first. Every layer above it is younger.
  2. Youngest layer The top layer was laid down last.
  3. Sandstone Sand that has turned to rock.
  4. Shale Mud that has turned to rock. It tends to split into thin sheets.
  5. Limestone A rock made mostly of the mineral calcite.
  6. Conglomerate Gravel that has turned to rock: rounded pebbles cemented together.
  7. Fossil The remains of a living thing, kept in rock. The layer that holds it tells its place in time.

Tilted and cut 6

  1. Tilted layers Layers laid down flat, then tipped by later movement.
  2. Fold A bend in layers that were once flat.
  3. Fault A break in rock where one side has moved. It is younger than every layer it cuts.
  4. Igneous intrusion Magma that pushed into older rock and hardened. A narrow one that cuts across layers is a dike.
  5. Unconformity A buried surface that erosion once wore down. It marks a gap in the rock record.
  6. Lava flow Lava that spread over the ground and hardened. Here it is the youngest rock.

How this list was compiled: Every name and statement checked on 2026-10-03 in two independent sources. (1) National Park Service, Glossary of Geologic Terms, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/gri-glossary-of-geologic-terms.htm (its table: superposition, strata, sandstone, shale, limestone, conglomerate, fossil, fold, fault, intrusion, dike, unconformity, angular unconformity, lava, extrusive). (2) US Geological Survey, Fossils, Rocks, and Time: Rocks and Layers, https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/rocks-layers.html : gravel becomes conglomerate, sand becomes sandstone, mud becomes mudstone or shale; a bed is older than any bed on top of it; layers laid down level and tilted by later events; fossils in limestone. (3) US Geological Survey, Geologic Time: Relative Time Scale, https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/relative.html : the bottom layer deposited first, lava flows among the layers. (4) Wikipedia, Relative dating, Law of superposition, Cross-cutting relationships and Unconformity, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_dating : a fault or an intrusion is younger than the rocks it cuts; an unconformity is a buried erosional surface; level strata on tilted and eroded layers. (5) Wikipedia, Limestone, Shale, Conglomerate (geology), Fold (geology), Dike (geology) and Fault (geology). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

Rock layers labeled on two drawings. The first is a stack of six flat layers with a fossil in one of them. The second shows labeled rock layers after a fold, a fault, an intrusion and a lava flow.

Read the full guide

Bottom first, flat first

In layers that have not been turned over, each layer is older than the one on top of it: the bottom layer is the oldest and the top layer the youngest. This is the law of superposition. Sediment settles in level beds, so layers that are tilted or folded were moved after they formed.

What cuts is younger

A fault or an intrusion is younger than every layer it cuts. An unconformity is an old surface that erosion wore down before new layers buried it.

  • On the second drawing the lava flow lies across the top of the fault without a break, so the lava came after the fault moved.

Questions and answers

Which rock layer is the oldest?

The bottom one. In a stack of sedimentary layers that has not been turned over, each layer is older than the layer above it, so the bottom layer is the oldest and the top layer is the youngest.

What is an unconformity?

A buried surface that separates rocks of different ages. The older rock was worn down by erosion for a time before younger layers were laid on it, so part of the rock record is missing there.

How can you tell that a fault is younger than the rock layers?

A fault is younger than every layer it cuts. A layer that lies across the top of the fault without a break formed after the fault last moved.

In what order did the events of the second drawing happen?

The lower layers formed, were folded and tilted, and were worn down. Two level layers were laid on that surface. The fault broke all of them, and the top was worn level. Last, magma rose through every layer and spread over the top as lava.

Can I print the rock layers diagram and label it on paper?

Yes. Print the drawing blank and write the thirteen names in, or print it with the names as a key. On screen, press Quiz me and tap each part as its name comes up.

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