Clay mineral particles are always negatively charged because of the presence of permanent negative charges and pH dependent charges at their surface. Quick clay is originally deposited in a marine environment. This is caused by its highly unstable clay particle structure. Quick clay has a remolded strength which is much less than its strength upon initial loading. Some of these are ancient, and may have been triggered by earthquakes. In Canada alone, it has been associated with more than 250 mapped landslides. Quick clay has been the underlying cause of many deadly landslides. Lawrence Valley, and the Saguenay River regions.

In Canada, the clay is associated primarily with the Pleistocene-era Champlain Sea, in the modern Ottawa Valley, the St. Quick clay is found only in countries close to the north pole, such as Russia Canada Norway Sweden and Finland and in Alaska, United States since they were glaciated during the Pleistocene epoch. Landslides occur because of the sudden soil liquefaction caused by external sollicitations such as vibrations induced by an earthquake, or massive rainfalls. The clay is so unstable that when a mass of quick clay is subjected to sufficient stress, the material behavior may drastically change from that of a particulate material to that of a watery fluid. Quick clay, also known as Leda clay and Champlain Sea clay in Canada, is any of several distinctively sensitive glaciomarine clays found in Canada, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the United States and other locations around the world.

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Quicksand does it exist