KRMVP/2021-22/CLASS X/GEOGRAPHY/CH 1-RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

TYPES OF SOIL
(REFER TO PAGE 8 AND 10 OF NCERT FOR DETAILS)

1) ALLUVIAL SOIL
AREAS  Northern plains: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam.
 A narrow corridor in Rajasthan, Gujarat.
 Eastern coastal plains: Deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri.
MINERALS  Contain potash, phosphoric acid, lime.
CROPS  Sugarcane, paddy (rice), wheat, other cereal, pulse crops.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS  Most widespread, fertile and important soil.
 Formed by the deposition of silt by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems.
 Soil contains various proportions of sand, silt and clay.
 It is coarse in upper reaches of the river valley i.e. at the break of the slope.
 Common in the piedmont plains such as Duars(NE region) Chos(Punjab) and Terai(N India).
 Classification on the basis of age: Khadar (New alluvial, has more fine particles, is fertile)
Bangar (Old alluvial, has higher concentration of kanker nodules).

2) BLACK SOIL/REGUR SOIL/ BLACK COTTON SOIL

AREAS  Plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh.
 Godavari and Krishna valley.
MINERALS  Rich in calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and lime.
 Poor in phosphoric contents.
CROPS  Cotton
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS  Climatic conditions along with the parent rock material are the important factors for the
formation of black soil.
 Soil is typical of the Deccan trap.
 Made of lava flows and is black in colour.
 It is extremely fine, clayey material.
 It has moisture holding capacity.
 It is sticky when wet.
 The soil develops deep cracks during hot weather.
 Soil should be tilled immediately after the first shower or during pre-monsoon period.
3) RED AND YELLOW SOIL
AREAS  Areas of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the Deccan plateau.
 Parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
 Southern parts of middle Ganga plains and piedmont zone of Western Ghats.
MINERALS  Rich in iron.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS  The soil develops reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and
metamorphic rock.
 It looks yellow when hydrated.
4) LATERITE SOIL
AREAS  Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
 Western Ghats region of Maharashtra, some parts of West Bengal and North-east regions.
CROPS  Tea, coffee, cashew nuts.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS  Derived from the Latin word ‘later’ meaning brick.
 It develops in under tropical and sub-tropical climate with alternate wet and dry season.
 It is a result of leaching due to heavy rain (The removal of soluble material from a
substance, such as soil or rock, through the percolation of water is called leaching.
Organic matter is typically removed from a soil horizon and soluble metals or salts from
a rock by leaching.)
 Soil is deep to very deep and acidic.
 Humus content varies.
 The soil is suitable for cultivation after adopting appropriate soil conservation techniques.
5) ARID SOIL
AREAS  Western Rajasthan
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS  Red to brown in colour.
 Sandy in texture and saline in nature. In some areas salt content is very high, common salt is
obtained by evaporating the water.
 Soil lacks humus and moisture due to high temperature and evaporation.
 Lower areas contain Kankar, which restrict the infiltration of water.
 Soil becomes cultivable with irrigation as in western Rajasthan.
6) FOREST SOIL
AREAS  Hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rain forests are available.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS  Texture of the soil varies with the mountain environment.
 The soil is loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in upper slopes.
 Soil in snow covered areas experiences denudation and are acidic with low humus content.
 Soil in river terraces and alluvial fans are fertile.