1. Soil Formation

2. What is Soil?
Loose covering of broken rock particles and humus (decaying organic matter)
Found in nearly all regions of the Earth
Formed by chemical and physical weathering
Affected by climate
Four types

3. How Soil is Formed Requires 5 things: Creates soil horizons
parent material, topography, climate, organisms, time
Creates soil horizons

4. Weathering Physical Chemical Temperature, pressure
Water (hydrolysis), oxygen (oxidation), carbon dioxide (carbonic acid), acid rain

5. Erosion Movement of weathered material from one location to another
By water, air, ice

6. Topography

7. Climate Cool, dry, sparse vegetation Warm, wet, abundant vegetation
Predominantly physical weathering
Warm, wet, abundant vegetation
Increased chemical weathering

8. Global Soil Distribution

9. Polar Soil Form at high latitudes/elevations
Found in Greenland, Canada, Antarctica
Generally have good drainage
Very shallow

10. Temperate Soil Form in temperate areas
Found in the eastern US, Europe, eastern Asia, southern Africa and South America
Wide variation - based on annual rainfall amounts

11. Desert Soil Form in arid regions
Found in western US, northern Africa, Australia, Middle East, parts of Russia & China
Can only support a limited amount of vegetation

12. Tropical Soil
Form in areas that have high temperatures & heavy rainfall
Found in South America, central Africa, India, Indonesia
Soil is generally very poor in nutrients

13. Soil Horizons OA B C R

14. Geohazards

15. Geohazards Landslides Mudslides Avalanches Falling rock Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Floods

16. Geohazard Protection