Stratigraphically correlated profiles of organic matter concentration and the distribution and relative abundance of 8 major minerals in oil shales, through Colorado's Green River Formation near its saline depositional center, ere used to evaluate relationships among these components in Colorado oil shales. Strong direct relationships between the volume of organic matter in Colorado's Green River Formation oil shales and the relative amounts of the silicate minerals quartz, soda feldspar, and potash feldspar were demonstrated singly and collectively. The silicate minerals were also shown to be directly related to each other. Dawsonite, in the saline zone of the Formation, was also shown to be directly related to the volume of the organic matter and indirectly to the amount of nahcolite. These relationships were all interpreted as resulting from CO2 arising from organic matter in the sediment. A strong relationship, demonstrated between dawsonite and quartz, was credited to both the organic CO2mechanism and to ash-fall decomposition. Significant noncorrelaton with organic matter or any of the other minerals was found for calcite and analcite. Lack of significant correlation among any of the components in a particular horizon demonstrated absence of geochemical control during its deposition. In addition to their geochemical value, these relationships provide an additional interpretive tool for the Green Rive Formation deposits.