This study was conducted in selected areas of Bushehr Province to determine: 1) the origin and distribution of palygorskite and associated clay minerals in soils and Tertiary parent materials and 2) the heavy metals level, mineralogical composition and likely source(s) of dry dust deposited on the surface of date palm tree leaves grown in industrial, urban, and non-urban areas. Thirteen Tertiary parent materials and 28 soil profiles in the study area were sampled and analyzed for their mineralogical and physicochemical properties. Fifty dust samples deposited on date palm leaves and fifty surface soil samples were also collected. Palygorskite was observed in all soils studied and also in all Tertiay parent materials expect for calcareous shale and calcareous marl. Both pedogenic formation and inheritance from parent materials have been involved in the distribution of palygorskite in soils. Also, palygorskite was found in dust samples of Bushehr Province. The two main sources of different heavy metals in atmospheric dust deposited on date palm leaves were identified based upon the principal component analysis, cluster analysis and correlation analysis. It seems that the Zn, Cu, and Pb have anthropogenic sources, whereas Fe, Ni, Cr, Co, and Mn in the atmospheric dust presumably derive from non-anthropogenic sources. Keywords : Palygorskite, Tertiary, Parent materials, Dust, Date palm, Pedogenic, Heavy metals
