clasta

Clasta is a term that may appear in geology and related fields as a variant or root linked to the word clast. In geology, a clast is a fragment of preexisting rock or mineral material produced by physical weathering and transported to its current location. Some older or non-English texts use "clasta" as an alternate spelling or inflection, though the modern standard English noun remains "clast" and the associated adjective is "clastic." Clasts are classified by their size, shape, composition, and roundness, and they form the constituents of clastic sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate, and breccia. The study of clasts — their distribution, abrasion, sorting, and cementation — provides information about the depositional environment and post-depositional processes.

Outside geology, "clasta" does not have a widely recognized meaning in English-language science, and as a proper noun it is not a widely recognized name of a place, person, or organization in major reference works. In some linguistic or philological contexts, "clasta" may appear as part of compound terms or in transliterations from languages that use the root "klast-" or similar, but these usages are not standardized in English. For readers seeking precise definitions, consulting the entry on clast and the term clastic is recommended.