ABSTRACT
There are many different types of basin - continental or marine, deep or shallow, large or small, long-lived or ephemeral. All represent regions of topographic or bathymetric low and all, therefore, will receive an input of sediment from the surrounding basin catchment area and, with continued sedimentation over time, become sedimentary basins. Only some basins will eventually fill completely, whereas many others will remain only partially filled. Some are preserved in the ancient rock series, even though they may have become fragmented in the process; others are subducted and lost.
