Major soil deposits of India

Major soil types in India

USDA - Soil orders of the South

Asian region. A : Acrisols B :
Cambisols C : Chernozems D :
Podzoluvisols E : Rendzinas F :
Ferralsols G : Gleysols H :
Phaeozems I : Lithosols J :
Fluvisols K : Kastanozems L :
Luvisols M : Greyzems N : Nitosols
O : Histosols P : Podzols Q :
Arenosols R : Regosols S : Solonetz
T : Andosols U : Rankers W :
Planosols X : Xerosols Y :
Yermosols Z : Solonchaks
There are seven soil deposits in India. They are alluvial soil, black soil, red soil, laterite soil, or arid soil, and
forest and mountainous soil,marsh soil. These soils are formed by the sediments brought down by the
rivers. They also have varied chemical properties. Sundarbans mangrove swamps are rich in marsh soil.

Major soil deposits

Soil
Description Image
deposit

Alluvial soil have been deposited by the Indus, the

Ganges, and the Brahmaputra rivers. The entire northern
plains (including parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Bihar (Almost entirely), Chandigarh, Delhi (almost
entirely), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and
West Bengal) are made of alluvial soil. These soil also
extend in Rajasthan and Gujarat through a narrow
corridor. It is also found in the eastern coastal plains
Alluvial particularly in the deltas of Mahanadi, the Godavari, the
soil Krishna, and the Kaveri rivers.[1][2]

Alluvial soil as a whole are very fertile. Mostly

these soils contain adequate proportion of
Alluvial soil deposit
potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are
ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy,
wheat, and other cereal and pulse crops.[1]

Black soil is typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region

spread over northwests Deccan plateau and is made up
of lava flows. They cover the plateaus of Maharashtra,
Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, and Chattishgarh
and extend in the south-east direction along the Godavari
and the Krishna valleys.[1][3][4][2]

Also known as regur soil, black soil is ideal for

growing cotton and is known as black cotton
soil. They are rich in soil nutrients, such as
calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash and
lime. These soils are generally poor in
phosphoric contents.[1]
Black The black soils are made up of clayey soil, well
soil
known for their capacity to hold moisture.
Because of their high clay content, black soils
develop wide cracks during the dry season, but Black regur soil in Buldhana,
their iron-rich granular structure makes them Maharashrta
resistant to wind and water erosion. They are
poor in humus yet highly moisture-retentive,
thus responding well to irrigation. Those soils
are also found on many peripheral tracts where
the underlying basalt has been shifted from its
original location by fluvial processes. The
sifting has only led to an increased
concentration of clastic contents.[3]
 Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas
of low rainfall in the eastern and southern parts of the
Deccan plateau. Yellow and red soils are also found in
Red parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal,
and Maharashtra, southern Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya
yellow Pradesh. Red and yellow soils develop a reddish colour
soil due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic
rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated
form.[1][2]
Laterite soils are mainly found in Karnataka, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and the
hilly areas of Odisha and Assam. After adopting
appropriate soil conservation techniques particularly in
the hilly areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this
soil is very useful for growing tea and coffee. Red laterite
soils in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are more
suitable for crops like cashew nut.

The laterite soil develops in areas with high

Laterite temperature and heavy rainfall. This is the
soil result of intense leaching due to heavy rain.
Humus content of the soil is low because most
of the microorganisms, particularly the Abandoned laterite quarry in
decomposers, like bacteria, get destroyed due Angadipuram, Kerala
to high temperature and lack of organic matter
which is food, shelter and protection for the
microorganisms from the high temperatures.
Laterite soils are suitable for cultivation.

Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. They are

generally sandy in texture and saline in nature. In some
areas the salt content is very high and common salt is
obtained by evaporating the water. Due to the dry
climate, high temperature, evaporation is faster and the
Arid soil lacks organic matter and moisture which is the raw
soil material needed for humus. The lower horizons of the soil
are occupied by Kankar because of the increasing
calcium content downwards. The Kankar layer formations
in the bottom horizons restrict the infiltration of water.
After proper irrigation these soils become cultivable as
has been in the case of western Rajasthan. Arid land in Chandeni, Haryana

Forest Forests soils are found in the hilly and mountainous

soil areas where sufficient rainforests are available. The soils
texture varies according to the mountain environment
where they are formed. The soil is loamy and silty in
valley sides and coarse-grained in the upper slopes. It is
acidic with low humus content in the snow covered
areas.

Alluvial Soil
The rivers deposit very fine particles of soil in
different parts of India. This type of soil is
widespread in the Northern Plains of India.
Alluvial soils are rich in humus as they are
deposited by three important monkey river of
Himalayas, Indus river, Ganges and
Brahmaputra River. They are found in the
eastern coastal plains of India, particularly in
the deltas of rivers Mahanadi, Godavari river,
Krishna river and Kaveri. These are generally
rich in Phosphoric acid, lime and potash, and
is well known for its water holding capacity
which makes it ideal for growing sugarcane,
paddy, wheat and other cereal crops.colour of
alluvial soil is light grey or ash grey

Mountain soils
Mountain soils are found in the valleys and hill
slopes of the Himalayas at altitudes of 2500 m
to 3000 m. These soils are least studied and
often the vegetation cover helps in their
classification. The carbon nitrogen ratio is very
wide. They are silty loam to loam in texture and
dark brown in colour.

Desert soils
These soils are found in Thar desert in the
Indian state of Rajasthan and Gujarat. This soil
is formed from arid condition with practically
negligible rainfall. This type of soil is highly
pervious and have 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
This type of soil is black in colour. These soils
are also called as regur soils. In the north-
western found Deccan Plateau.[5] The soil is
suitable for growing cottons, due to which it is
also known as black cotton soil. It is believed
that the climatic conditions along with the
parent rock material are the important factors
for the formation of black soil. This type of soil
is typically of the Deccan trap region spread
over Northwest Deccan plateau and is made
from lava flows. 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 square
kilometres.[6] The engineering properties of
such soils are as follows:

High compressibility
Low bearing capacity
Low shearing strength

They are made up of clayey materials. They

are well known for their capacity to hold
moisture. They are rich in calcium carbonate,
magnesium, potash and lime. During summer,
they develops crack. This is very helpful for
aeration of black soil.

Red Soils
Red soil is a type of soil that develops in a
warm, temperate, moist climate under
deciduous or mixed forest, having thin organic
and organic-mineral layers overlying a
yellowish-brown leached layer resting on an
illuvium red layer. Red soils are generally
derived from crystalline rock. They are usually
poor growing soils, low in nutrients and humus
and difficult to cultivate because of its low
water holding capacity.

Laterite soils
Laterite soils are formed from chemical
decomposition of rocks. soils mainly contain
iron oxide which gives them characteristic pink
or red color. These soils are found in
Central,Eastern and Southern India. These are
residual soils is formed from basalt and have
high specific gravity. These soils are mostly
composed as calcite depositions. They are
more suitable for crops like cashew nut.

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.
The marine clays are soft and highly plastic.
 They contain large amount of organic matter
and are not suitable for construction of
megastructures like buildings, cranes etc.[7][8]

References
1. https://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/jess101.pdf
2. https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/kegy106.pdf
3. http://oaji.net/articles/2014/437-1391266962.pdf
4. "India - Black soils" (https://www.britannica.com/plac
e/India). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved
2020-10-12.
5. "Soils of India" (https://sites.google.com/.../soils-of-in
dia). Retrieved 11 November 2014.
6. Nagaraj, T. S.; Srinivasa, B. R. (1994). Google books
(https://books.google.com/books?id=Vh9DkErx14gC
&q=major+soil+deposits+of+India&pg=PA10). Taylor
& Francis. ISBN 9788122406337. Retrieved
11 November 2014.
7. soil mechanics and foundation engineering by Dr.
K.R. ARORA.
8. "Civil engineering hub" (http://www.civilengg.blogspot.
com). Retrieved 11 November 2014.

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