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Gay Head Cliffs in Martha's Vineyard consist almost entirely of clay. A Quaternary clay deposit in Estonia, laid down about 400,000 years ago. Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals [1] (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, Al 2 Si 2 O 5 4).
Clay cannot be resolved by optical microscopes as its particles are 0.002 mm (7.9 × 10 −5 in) or less in diameter and a thickness of only 10 angstroms (10 −10 m). [16] [17] In medium-textured soils, clay is often washed downward through the soil profile (a process called eluviation) and accumulates in the subsoil (a process called ...
Expansive clay, also called expansive soil, is a clay soil prone to large volume changes (swelling and shrinking) directly related to changes in water content. [1] Soils with a high content of expansive minerals can form deep cracks in drier seasons or years; such soils are called vertisols .
Soil texture triangle showing the USDA classification system based on grain size Map of global soil regions from the USDA. For soil resources, experience has shown that a natural system approach to classification, i.e. grouping soils by their intrinsic property (soil morphology), behaviour, or genesis, results in classes that can be interpreted for many diverse uses.
Fats and waxes from plant matter have still more resistance to decomposition and persist in soils for thousand years, hence their use as tracers of past vegetation in buried soil layers. [166] Clay soils often have higher organic contents that persist longer than soils without clay as the organic molecules adhere to and are stabilised by the ...
The formation of the claypan relates to a lack of vegetation coverage, soil particle size distribution, and high rainfall. The lack of vegetation coverage makes soil become more susceptible to raindrop attacks. When the raindrops hit on bare soil with high energy, the fine sand, silt, and clay particles are re-arranged to plug all the pore spaces.
Gumbo soil is typically defined by the overwhelming presence of very fine particles of clay, but often has small amounts of sand and/or organic material. [1]Although gumbo soils are exceptional at water retention, they can be difficult to farm, as precipitation will turn gumbo into a unique muddy mess that is challenging to work using large commercial farming equipment.
Blue goo is a sticky, plasticky, blueish-grey, clay-textured soil derived from a highly weathered serpentinite mélange. [1] [2] The name derives from the soil's color; a result of undergoing anaerobic conditions and becoming gleyed. [3] A greyer variation is called "grey goo". [2] Blue goo is primarily found along the Northern California coast ...