Soils are created through the interaction of climate, vegetation, organisms, topography, and time on the organic and mineral material found on Earth's surface. Because different locations around the world have different climates and topographies and support different kinds of organisms, soil types vary from place to place. Each type possesses certain defining characteristics, including color, texture, ... Full description.

The purpose of the handout is to identify the three major types of soils: pedalfer, pedocal, and laterite, and to understand the soil profile. This is accomplished with brief descriptions of the soil horizons and the designation of common elements to pedalfers, pedocals, and laterite soils. The handout is concluded with a discussion of soil erosion. Links are provided to the online Physical Geology ... Full description.

This field guide is useful for making or reading soil and site descriptions. The major sections address soil profile description, geomorphology, geology, soil taxonomy, soil map symbols, and field sampling strategies. Rock charts and timescales are provided to help with soil identification. Full description.

This United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) publication (9th edition, 2003) contains taxonomic keys necessary for the classification of soils in a form easily used in the field. The book describes soils in general, how to differentiate between them, and how the identification process works. The taxonomic key includes all known soil types, including mollisols, oxisols, alfisols, and others. Full description.

The goal of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Survey Division (SSD) is to assess the world's soil resources. This site provides soil surveys and maps by state, which indicate the agriculture and climate, descriptions of soil types, soil uses, and suitability for land use. Contact information for local and state soil scientists are given. Users can also access soil characterization information ... Full description.

This site is part of the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource's Conservation Service, providing state-of-the-art soil survey technology, standards, data, and expertise. This site covers soil quality, hydric and urban soils, facts and figures for the United States, and a number of world, national and thematic maps. Full description.

This site is part of Visible Earth, which is hosted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and contains a searchable directory of images, visualizations, and animations of the Earth. The agriculture section contains images pertaining to aquaculture, crop and plant yields, irrigation, reclamation, soil moisture, and more. Each image is available in a variety of resolutions and ... Full description.

This site covers numerous aspects of soil science and addresses many soil related issues at a level that can be presented to school age children. Several sections are devoted to the relationship between humans and soil in terms of agriculture, society, ecosystems, and why soil should be studied. Also included are photographs of different soil types or soil horizons with descriptions that explain what ... Full description.

This report describes the characteristics used to define wetland (or hydric) soil types found in the United States. It is in text format and has one image showing the difference between hydric sandy soils and finer textured soils. The report identifies and describes the particular soil types and lists them by region. The information used for the report was provided by the USDA, NRCS, and Wetland Science ... Full description.

This activity allows students to examine the composition of dirt. Over a period of a few days, students collect soil samples and observe the contents. The purpose of the experiment is to investigate healthy soil and how it can help with pollution. This activity includes vocabulary, materials, activity descriptions, and observation questions for students to answer as they go. Full description.