THE PRESENCE OF ATTAPULGITE IN SOME SOILS OF THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT

Abstract

The presence of attapulgite in limestones and dolomites has been reported by Millot (9), Grim (5), and Heystek et al. (6). The occurrence of attapulgite among other minerals in soils has been reported by Michaud et al. for some Mediterranean soils (8), by Muir for some Syrian soils (10), by Rogers et al. for soils from Queensland (11), and by Barshad et al. for some limestone soils from Palestine (1). The group of Egyptian soils known as “desert soils” actually covers a wide variety of soils that show different morphological characteristics, and probably, because of the differing factors responsible for their formation in the past, different chemical and mineralogical composition. The present study deals with the clay minerals of two soils, collected from the western desert of Egypt, which showed morphological characteristics different from those of neighboring desert soils. © Williams & Wilkins 1962. All Rights Reserved.