Formation of Soil

Soil is disintegrated or decomposed product of rock formed by weathering action. This disintegration may

-mechanical or physical disintegration

-chemical decomposition

Rock surface that is exposed to environment for a significant time, decomposed or disintegrated resulting small particles which is soil we are discussing. Geologic cycle that continues uninterrupted in nature produce such incidental material. Geologic cycle may consists of

-erosion

-transportation

-deposition

-upheaval of soil

Various mechanical and chemical processes degrade expose rocks and erosion products are carried by various transportation agencies like

-water

-wind

-glacier

-gravity

We will discuss about soils formed by transportation of each agencies.

This transportation agents picks erosion products to new locations and they get deposited resulting disturbance of equilibrium of earth forces which results large scale movement of earth and consequent upheaval. The process discussed above results rocks to expose further and geologic cycles are repeated.

But some types of soil remains in position of its formation which is known as residual soil. We have discussed about such soil in our previous post. The soil that transported from its original formation rock is called transported soil.

Depending on transportation agents, we can subdivide transported soil further into three categories:

a. Alluvial soil

b. Glacial soil

c. Aeolian soil

Sometimes there may have organic material, which may be subjected to organic decomposition resulting peat or other organic soils.