Crop and Soil Sciences > Degree Programs and Courses > Soil Science Courses > Soils 415

Soils 415 - Soil Morphology, Mapping and Land Use

  • Instructor: Dr. Patrick Drohan
  • Credits: 3
  • Semesters Offered: Fall of odd-numbered years
  • Texts:
    1. U.S.D.A. 1993. Soil Survey Manual. U.S. Dept. of Agric., Washington, D.C.
  • Prerequisite: GEOSC 001, GEOSC 020, GEOSC 071, or SOILS 101
  • Syllabus: Link to PDF file.

Course Description

This course is primarily concerned with soil morphology and its role in determining the proper agricultural and nonagricultural uses of our soils. Soil horizons, color, texture, structure, consistency, special formations, and internal drainage are some of the soil morphological features that are presented and related to field conditions. These morphological principles are used to delineate and map various types of soil units. The soil mapping units are interpreted as to their potential uses and are related to the planning of various land uses that include: Agriculture; forest and woodland; metropolitan; recreation; transportation; and waste disposal. Geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques are related to mapping and land use planning processes.