Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2024
Chromium-bearing members of the montmorillonite group have been reported heretofore only for Russian localities, where they have been related genetically to serpentines. A green mineral which occurs in high-angle fissures in the Morrison formation (Upper Jurassic) near Thompsons, Utah, contains about 2 percent Cr2O3. Data were obtained by optical and electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, and gravimetric and spectroscopic chemical methods. The ultimate source of the chromium remains an unresolved geochemical question, as do the sources of vanadium and uranium in the Morrison sandstone.