Bedding plane

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A planar or nearly planar bedding surface that visibly separates each successive layer of stratified sediment or rock (of the same or different lithology) from the preceding or following layer; a plane of deposition. It commonly marks a change in the circumstances of deposition and may show a parting, a color difference, a change in particle size, or various combinations of these. The term is commonly applied to any bedding surface, even one that is conspicuously bent or deformed by folding. [Source: NRCS Glossary]

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