1. contact pressure causing grains to "grow" together compaction 2. increase in density due to weight of overburden orogeny 3. precipitation of bonding agents between grains cementation 4. composed of small fragments of gravel, sand, or silt epeirogeny 5. uplift of large land masses without significant deformation clastic 6. formation of mountain ranges by disturbance of the earth's crust recrystallization