Asphalt
Biological Process
Synonym
Bitumen
Required Geological Setting
Neogene and Quaternary sediments, Paleogene and older sediments
Occurrence
The most viscous variety of petroleum. Asphalt is oberved as very sticky liquid to solid black material in strata producing petroleum. It fomed by evaporation of most volatile components in petroleum in strata or on the ground surface. Asphalt may occur as lakes on the ground surface or a matrix of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone.