Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science

The study of light and heavy minerals of fine sand (100–250 μm), X-ray analyses of clay and petrography of probable parent rocks were performed to determine the provenance and maturity of soils around Chandrapur. The absence of ferromagnesian minerals shows high maturity of the soils. The presence of considerable amount of high grade metamorphic minerals viz. garnet and rutile in the fine sand fraction indicates metamorphic provenance. Polycrystallinity and wavy extinction of quartz grains in sandstone also support metamorphic provenance. Ferruginous matrix in siltstone may be due to interstitial haematite. X-ray analyses of clay indicate the dominance of kaolinite and smectite in soils developed on sandstone and shale respectively.