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Saw a dredge working on the Cape Fear River last month and the sediment color was wild

It was pulling up this bright orange clay, not the usual gray muck. Anyone know what causes that specific color in riverbeds?
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2 Comments
olivia_hernandez
Could that orange color be from iron oxide in the clay layers?
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holly_price
Yeah, Olivia's totally right about the iron oxide. I saw the same thing last summer when they were dredging the Neuse River near New Bern. That orange clay layer was about three feet thick in some spots. It's basically rust in the soil from old deposits that get exposed when they dig. Looks crazy against the normal dark river mud.
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