Which term describes sediment formed from extraterrestrial matter such as tektites?

• A. Neritic Sediment
• B. Evaporite
• C. Cosmogenous Sediment
• D. Hydrogenous Sediment

Answer: (C)

Sediments are classified by where their material comes from. Cosmogenous sediment consists of material that originates outside Earth, delivered by meteorites, cosmic dust, or impact-generated forms like tektites. Tektites are glassy fragments produced when a meteorite impact melts and ejects terrestrial rock; once these particles settle in the ocean, they become part of cosmogenous sediment, since their source is extraterrestrial. This differs from neritic sediment, which mainly comes from land and coastal processes; evaporites, formed by the evaporation of seawater in restricted basins; and hydrogenous sediment, formed by minerals precipitating directly from seawater. So the term for sediment formed from extraterrestrial matter such as tektites is cosmogenous sediment.