Banded iron formation

Layered iron-rich sedimentary rock

Banded iron formations (BIFs; also called banded ironstone formations) are distinctive units of sedimentary rock consisting of alternating layers of iron oxides and iron-poor chert. They can be up to several hundred meters in thickness and extend laterally for several hundred kilometers. Almost all of these formations are of Precambrian age and are theorized to record the oxygenation of the Earth's oceans.

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