Characteristics of Soil
Ms. Norris
Highland High School
Earth Science 2015
Questions
What are the major components of soil?
 What are the most important factors in
soil formation?
 How does soil vary with depth?
 What are three common types of soil?
 How do human activities affect the rate of
soil erosion?

Vocabulary
Regolith
 Soil
 Soil horizon
 Soil profile
 Pedalfer
 Pedocal
 Laterite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7iyxocIhfu0
Characteristics of Soil
(Note – this is good quality surface soil)
Soil has four major components:
 25% Air
 45% Mineral matter (broken down rocks)
 25 % Water
 5% Organic matter (decayed remains of
organisms – both plant and animal)

Three Primary Types of Soil
Sand
 Silt
 Clay

Soil Texture

Refers to the
proportions
of different
particle sizes.
Changing Ecological Systems: The
San Juan River Disaster
What happened?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t5eb
he0UYM
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRSpn
TvKr38
 http://www2.epa.gov/goldkingmine/epaupdate-gold-king-mine-response-san-juanriver-data

River System Anatomy
Ocean System Anatomy
Ecology of River Systems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejcdji_cLG0

1. What is the Photic Zone?
2. What is the Aphotic Zone?
3. What are some examples of benthos?
4. Warm water is ___________ _________ than cold water which
means………?
5. Where a river begins is called the ______________.
6. The bottom of the river is called the ______________.
7. Where will the heaviest population of organisms be found and why?
8. Do wetlands always have to be covered in water?
9. Why are wetlands important?
10. Describe what an Estuary is.
11. What does the word salinity mean?
12. What types of organisms need to survive in the inner tidal zone?










