Engineering Commons^™

Kentucky Soils: Their Origin, Distribution And Engineering Properties, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Soil is the product of the action of climate and living organisms upon parent materials, as conditioned by local relief. The length of time over which these forces are operative is of great importance in determining the properties of the final soil product. Altogether, there are five principal factors in soil formation: 1.) climate, 2.) biological activity, 3.) nature of the parent material, 4.) topography, and 5.) time.

The major differences in the soils of Kentucky result chiefly from differences in 1.) the rocks from which the parent materials were derived and 2.) the topographic position of the materials.