Clay

Origins of Clay

Clay is formed from the erosion of a limited variety of environments. Some of these environments include; continental which is weathering and erosion on Earth's surface, marine which occurs on the floor of a body of water, or even within the Earth when it is near a heat source. The heat source would be magma, and there would have to be water in the pores of the rocks and minerals under the crust of the Earth. When the situations are right the clay is formed by the breaking down of the minerals. Clay can include any minerals of the rocks that it breaks down but there has to be some minerals in it that are able to absorb water. In order for something to be a considered a clay it also has to be smaller than 0.002mm. There are 2 main types of clay residual and sedimentary clays.

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Characteristics of Clay

For something to be considered clay it has to met a few criteria. The grain size of a clay particle has to be 0.002mm or smaller. It has to have the ability to absorb water. Clay particles will increase there size greatly when they absorb water, sometimes by nearly 100 percent.

Residual Clay

Residual clay is clay that has not been transported away from the parent rock. It is considered to have low plasticity and will not stick together very easily.

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Sedimentary Clay

Sedimentary clay are minerals that broke down from the original parent material, through weathering and erosion. They are then transported by wind, water, ice, or any other mode of transport away from the parent rock. when they get moved there are eroded further causing them to decrease in there size. This type of clay is considered to have more plasticity this means it will stick together better.