Origin of magnesium clays from the Amargosa Desert, Nevada.

Abstract

Extensive deposits of sepiolite, mixed-layer kerolite/stevensite (preceding abstract), calcite and dolomite, occur on desert flats in the Amargosa Desert, Nevada, USA. They were formed in shallow lakes or swamps during a pluvial period in the Pleistocene, by precipitation from non-saline or low salinity solutions fed by springwaters flowing from Palaeozoic carbonate aquifers on adjoining higher ground. XRD, SEM, microprobe thin-section and isotope studies are reported. -D.F.B. Dept. of Geology & Mineralogy, Univ. of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.