January 1, 0001

January 1, 0001

A loose, earthy, extremely fine-grained, natural sediment or soft rock composed primarily of clay-size or colloidal particles and characterized by high plasticity and by a considerable content of clay mineral and subordinate amounts of finely divided quartz, decomposed feldspar, carbonates, ferruginous matter, and other impurities; it forms a plastic, moldable mass when finely ground and mixed with water, retains its shape on drying, and becomes firm, rocklike and permanently hard on heating or firing.

clay

Bates, R.L.; Jackson, J.A., Glossary of Geology - Third Edition, American Geological Institute, Alexandria, USA, 1987