ABSTRACT
Clays belong in the overall family of soils derived from the weathering of rocks, and are either weathered in place or transported by various transport agents (such as glacial activity, wind, water, anthropogenic activities) to various locations. In general, one used to say that clays consist of three supposedly separate phases: a solid phase that consists of various minerals, an aqueous phase that contains dissolved solutes, and a gaseous phase. However, we now know that this is not exactly true – not in the light of our greater understanding of the nature of interlayer water in certain kinds of clays.
