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.

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Types of Clay

In order for something to be a considered a clay it has to be smaller than 0.002mm. There are 2 main types of clay residual and sedimentary clays.