There are about five soil deposits in India.
Contents
Alluvial soils
Alluvial soil is most wide spread. This soil is formed due to the entire northern plains are formed of it.
Desert soils
These soils are found in Thar desert in the Indian state of Rajasthan. This soil is formed from arid conditions with practically negligible rainfall. This type of soil is highly pervious and has a low density. It requires densification to increase its bearing capacity and shearing strength. Commonly recognised plants that grow in these soils are cacti.
Black soils
Central India and Deccan plateau mainly constitutes this type of soil. The soil is suitable for growing cottons. These are residual deposits from trap or basalt rocks. This type of soil is typically of the Deccan trap region spread over Northwest Deccan plateau and is made of lava floors. They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and extend in South-East direction along Godavari and Krishna valleys. These soils contain essential clay minerals as montmorillonite. These soils cover an extensive area of 300,000 km2. The engineering properties of such soils are as follows:
Lateritic Soils
Lateritic soils are formed from chemical decomposition of rocks. These soils mainly contain iron oxide which gives them characteristic pink or red color. These soils are found in Central, Eastern and South India. These are residual soils formed from basalt and have high specific gravity. These soils are mostly composed as calcite depositions.
Marine deposits
These soils are found in narrow belt near the south-west coast of India. These soils have low shearing strength and high compressibility. They contain large amount of organic matter and are not suitable for construction of megastructures like buildings, cranes etc.