Understanding soil development and soil character is crucial to good land use planning. Soil Development Soil is an important part of the geologic cycle and soil charactistics are influenced by parent material, climate, topography, weathering, and the amount of time a particular soil has had to develop. Unsurprisingly, variations in climate, parent material, type of weathering and amount of time produce distinct soils that express these variations. As soil develops, weathering creates distinct layers in soil. We call these layers soil horizons, and each soil horizon has distinctive characteristics.
Every soil has a soil profile, a list of the horizons that describe a particular soil.
This soil has several horizons. The description of these horizons classifies the soil into a certain group. Soil Science Education Page A NASA education site for younger people, but full of useful information and excellent photographs. The Land Degradation Page when bad things happen to good soil State of the Land a USDA site devoted to soil and environmental quality Visit Soil Orders at the University of Idaho for information on soil orders. Investigate the six most common soil horizons.