Basic Characteristics of Soils

To the civil engineer, soil is any uncemented or weakly cemented accumulation of mineral particles formed by the weathering of rocks, the void space between the particles containing water and/or air. Weak cementation can be due to carbonates or oxides precipitated between the particles or due to organic matter. If the products of weathering remain at their original location they constitute a residual soil. If the products are transported and deposited in a different location they constitute a transported soil, the agents of transportation being gravity, wind, water and glaciers. During transportation the size and shape of particles can undergo change and the particles can be sorted into size ranges.