Two definitions for soil: from an agricultural/biologic perspective, and from an engineering perspective.

Motivation for addressing soils in this course?

• soil is a critical agricultural resource.
• soil is a common foundation material.
• soil erosion causes siltation and related environmental concerns.

Questions to pursue in understanding soils.

• What are the initial materials soils are formed from?
• What important factors influence soil formation?
• What processes occur during soil formation and what approaches could you take to study these processes?
• What are the soil constituents that result from these processes?
• What structures (order) exists in soils?
• How can soils be classified?
• What are environmental concerns associated with soils?
  • agricultural concerns.
  • erosion related concerns.
  • engineering concerns.

Return to Environmental Geology course index.

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