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CHAPTER 6

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
OF ROCKS AND SOILS

ORIGIN OF ROCKS AND SOILS

The ultimate source of all rock and soil is the molten magma from deep in the earth. The
minerals are nearly all forms of silicates with various other metallic elements. The rock
cycle starts with the hardened magma, igneous rock. The rock mass can be changed by a
combination of extreme pressure, heat, distortion, and solution to form metamorphic rock.
Weathering of the surface of the rock, whether igneous or metamorphic, can be followed
by the transportation of the weathered particles to a new location and subsequent indura-
tion into sedimentary rocks.

Igneous Rocks
The two primary forms of igneous structure are intrusive or plutonic and extrusive. Intru-
sive rocks form as the magma cools slowly below the surface, resulting in coarse-grained
granite and granite-like masses, rich in quartz. Extrusive rocks form as the magma cools
rapidly at or near the surface, resulting in basalt and other rocks rich in ferromagnesian
minerals. Magma ejected from volcanos forms as lava beds and ash beds.

Sedimentary Rocks
The physical and chemical weathering processes (discussed below) acting on the rock cre-
ate particles small enough to be transported by water, wind, glacial action, or gravity,
where they are sedimented at a new location. Pressure and/or cementation harden the sed-
iments into sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate, shales, or limestone (calcium carbonate)
and dolomite (magnesium carbonate).

Metamorphic Rocks
A combination of heat, pressure, solution, and distortion alter the minerals in the origi-
nal rock into new forms. Granites become gneiss. Basalt becomes schist. Sandstones and

6.1

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6.2 CHAPTER 6

siltstones are altered into quartzites. Shales are altered into slates or mica schists. And
limestones and dolomites are altered into marble.

SOIL FORMING PROCESSES

Soil has different meanings in different fields. To a pedologist, soil is the mineral and
organic substance existing at the upper few feet of the earth’s surface, which grows and
develops plant life, the A and B horizons shown in Figure 6.1. To a geologist, soil is the
mineral and organic material in the relatively thin surface zone within which roots occur
(the same as the pedologist’s definition). The rest of the earth’s crust is grouped under the
term rock irrespective of its hardness or degree of induration. To an engineer, soil consists
of the sediments and other unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles produced by
the mechanical and chemical disintegration of rocks.

Weathering Processes
Weathering produces engineering soil by breaking the native rock into discrete particles.
Weathering occurs due to mechanical (physical) and chemical-biological processes. The
surface of the soil layer is weathered at an accelerated rate because of plant and animal
activity, forming pedologic soil that will support plant life. The upper few feet of a typi-
cal temperate zone soil profile are shown in Figure 6.1.

FIGURE 6.1 Upper few feet of a typical temperate zone soil profile showing plant growth zone, engineering
soil, and rock.

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ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF ROCKS AND SOILS 6.3

Mechanical Weathering (Disintegration). Mechanical actions cause the breakdown of


rock masses, through a combination of grinding, shattering, and breaking, into discrete
particles having the same mineral composition as the parent rock. The particles are broken
into various sizes and can become angular or rounded. The major agents of physical dis-
integration are (a) temperature changes causing differential expansion and contraction; (b)
freezing of water in pores and cracks; (c) abrasion due to the impact of particles moved by
wind, water, air, or gravity; and (d) glaciation, the grinding, plucking, and plowing action
of glaciers.

Chemical-biological Weathering. The processes that change the chemical composition


of rock include (a) oxidation, the formation of new oxides; (b) hydration, the formation of
hydrates; (c) carbonation, in which carbon dioxide from the air forms carbonic acid; and
(d) solution, in which organic acides from plants and animals dissolve soluble minerals.
The resulting particles become clay, generally complex hydrous aluminum silicates,
which are extremely small particles that are formed in sheets or platelets, surrounded by
electrically bound water. Clay particles exhibit cohesive attraction to each other because
of electrical surface forces. The major clay types are kaolinite, illite, and smectite (mont-
morillonite).

Weathering Products. Each of the rock types results in a weathering product, soil, the
character of which depends on the mineral composition of the parent rock and on the
weathering process. Typically,
1. Granite becomes tan and yellow silty sand and sandy silt, with some mica and kaoli-
nite clay.
2. Basalt becomes clay, often highly plastic montmorillonite clay.
3. Sandstone and siltstone become sand and silt.
4. Shale becomes silt and clay.
5. Limestone becomes insoluble residue, silicates, and clays.
The weathering of a rock proceeds from the exposed surface downward; thus, the
greater the depth, the smaller the amount of weathering. Figure 6.2 illustrates a typical
weathering profile in an igneous rock. In a temperate climate, the A and B horizons of the
residual soil profile are typically from one to four feet thick. The C horizon, the fully
weathered rock (engineering soil) can extend down from a few feet to tens of feet. It grades
downward into (a) soil with some rock fragments, then into (b) discrete blocks of rock sur-
rounded by a matrix of soil, and finally (c) into fragmented and jointed rock, ultimately
reaching solid rock. Figure 6.3 is a typical weathering profile for metamorphic rocks and
Figure 6.4 is a typical weathering profile for carbonate rocks.
The degree of weathering is a function of both temperature and slope. Weathering on
gentle slopes in the tropics might be several hundred meters (hundreds of feet) thick. In
the far north, the weathered soil zone is very thin. Furthermore, erosion and the plowing
action of glaciers have removed most of the weathered soil in places such as the Canadian
Shield. Soils formed on steep slopes tend to move downhill under gravity forces and then
are eroded by other forces. On shallow slopes, the movement is less severe and the weath-
ered soil zone is much deeper.

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6.4 CHAPTER 6

FIGURE 6.2 Typical weathering profile for intrusive igneous rocks [1].

Now, at what point does rock become soil? This is important in contracting for exca-
vation and grading. According to Sowers: “Rock is defined by the engineer as any
indurated material that requires drilling and blasting or similar methods of brute force for
excavation.” [2]

NATURAL SOIL DEPOSITS

Deposits of natural soils can be uniform or non-uniform horizontally and are usually non-
uniform, or stratified, vertically. The variation in particle size, shape, and texture depends
on the weathering process and on the presence or absence of a transportation process. Soil
deposits can be residual (sedentary) or transported.

Residual Soils
Residual soil, or residuum, is the fully or partially weathered rock material that has
remained in the place in which it was formed. That is, it has not been acted upon by any

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ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF ROCKS AND SOILS 6.5

FIGURE 6.3 Typical weathering profile for metamorphic rocks [1].

of the transport mechanisms such as water, wind, gravity, or glaciation. It is found wher-
ever the rate of weathering exceeds the rate of removal. Often, all but the least soluble con-
stituents have been removed by leaching, leaving a clayey material. Because the amount
of weathering of a residual soil deposit varies with depth, the index properties (the grain
size distribution and the Atterberg limits) also vary with depth. The bouldery rock frag-
ments found in the transition zone often are almost as weathered as the soil. Saprolite is a
term used to designate a residual soil in which the structure, or fabric, of the unweathered
rock is preserved. Figures 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 are typical residual soil profiles. Deposits of
residual soil are generally found on the sides and tops of mountains or high hills.

Transported Soils
Soils are moved from their sedentary, or residual, location by the forces of water, wind,
gravity, or ice. The horizontal and vertical variation in particle size, shape, and texture
within each type of soil deposit depends on the type and intensity of the process.
When soil particles are moved by either water or air, the competence of the fluid is the
maximum size of the particle that can be transported at a given fluid velocity. Figure 6.5

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6.6 CHAPTER 6

FIGURE 6.4 Typical weathering profile for carbonate rocks [1].

FIGURE 6.5 Competence of flowing water; the relationship between grain size and water velocity needed to
cause erosion, transport, or deposition [3].

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ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF ROCKS AND SOILS 6.7

is a theoretical study of the relationship between water velocity and particle size, showing
zones of erosion (suspension in the fluid), transportation (movement along the bottom by
jumping or saltation), and deposition (no movement). This diagram also illustrates the vul-
nerability of various sizes of particles to water or wind erosion.
The coarse sand and gravel particles in the deposition zone are too large and heavy for
movement except by very high water velocities, such as those occurring during spring
floods in small streams. Clay and silty clay particles have sufficient interparticle attraction
due to the clay. Only flocs or clods can be eroded.

Water. Flowing water erodes soils and then deposits them. The tumbling action during
saltation produces grain roundness. The competence of a stream of water to move soil par-
ticles depends on velocity, grain size, and bed load. At high velocity, such as in flood, par-
ticles are eroded and carried in suspension. Then, as the velocity decreases, the particles
are redeposited as sediments.
Fluvial (riverine) deposits. Grain size of the bed load along the length of the river
channel varies with distance and with changes in the velocity of the stream, which is due
to either seasonal variation in water quantity or with curvature of the stream. Large and
erratic variations occur transverse to a stream profile, particularly at bends.
Floodplain (alluvial) deposits. Layers of sandy silt, silt, or silty clay are formed on
the lowland bordering the stream when the sediment-laden stream overflows its banks.
Floodplain deposits tend be uniform in grain size, shape, and texture.
The complex pattern of floodplain deposits shown in Figure 6.6 is typical of the Mis-
sissippi and other large, geologically mature rivers. Figure 6.7 is a cross section through
part of the deposits of Figure 6.6. Point bar deposits are arcuate ridge and swale deposits
of sand and gravel formed on the inside of a meander where a slowed velocity causes sed-
imentation. Backswamp clays are the alluvial sediments deposited in the floodplain during
a flood and left behind when the water recedes. Natural levees are the sandy silts and silty
clays that form flat ridges adjacent to the river. Clay plugs are masses of silt, clay, and
organic muck filling a cutoff, or oxbow, lake.
Lacustrine (lake) deposits. When a stream enters a large body of water, the velocity
slows and the coarsest sediments are deposited in a delta that has a uniform grain size. The
finer particles are carried farther out, where they settle to form alternating layers of coarse
and fine grains.
Coastal (shore) deposits. Sand and gravel are deposited as deltas closest to the point
at which a stream empties into the ocean and loses velocity. Waves erode exposed shore-
line rock deposits. Longshore currents move the eroded coarse particles with currents,
causing separation into various grain-size fractions.
Marine (ocean) deposits These deposits are similar to lacustrine deposits. Sand is
deposited next to the shore, silt a little farther out, and clay a great distance from shore,
resulting in separation by size.
Uplifted marine terrace deposits. A narrow coastal strip is formed of material
deposited in a wave-cut bench in the near off-shore of an ocean and later exposed by tec-
tonic uplift or by lowering of the sea level. Such deposits are typically uniform horizon-
tally but grade down from fine-grained silt at the surface to thick layers of sand and basal
gravels. They are generally much less than 50 m (150 ft) thick.

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6.8 CHAPTER 6

FIGURE 6.6 Meander belt deposits north of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and east of the Mississippi River [4].

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FIGURE 6.7 Section A-A of Figure 6.6. Cross section showing low-lying meander belt deposits and
loess-covered valley walls [4].

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6.10 CHAPTER 6

Wind. Soils in floodplain and coastal deposits are picked up by the wind during dry sea-
sons. The competence of the wind is similar to that of water, shown in Figure 6.5. Down-
wind, the coarsest particles are deposited closest to the source, often on a bluff line that
significantly reduces the wind velocity. The smaller particles are deposited farther away in
the direction of prevailing winds.
Sand Dunes. Size of sand grains is fairly uniform and the sand is clean with little or
no clay binder. Grains tend to be rounded due to having tumbled in streams. Major dune
deposits are found on the southern Oregon coast, on the Indiana shore of Lake Michigan,
and in southern Arizona.
Loess Consists of fine sand to silt sizes, with a coating of plastic clay, that were
eroded from dry floodplains by the wind (typically from the northwest) and deposited on
downwind bluffs and uplands. The competence of the wind diminishes as the wind veloc-
ity decreases at a bluff line and farther inland. Loess forms as a metastable or honey-
combed structure because of the small clay coating on the silt grains. Loess deposits
generally have a low density, but derive their strength from partial saturation. The struc-
ture tends to collapse on saturation. Major deposits are found along the south side of the
Missouri River and the east side of the Mississippi River. Smaller deposits occur in east-
ern Washington. The density increases, and the collapse potential decreases, with distance
southward down the Missouri-Mississippi valley. Loess deposits have high vertical poros-
ity and high vertical cleavage.
Pyroclastics. Although not true wind-deposited soils, pyroclastics are fragmented rock
material and ash formed by volcanic explosion or aerial expulsion from a volcanic vent and
deposited nearby. The largest fragments are called bombs and the finest are volcanic ash.
The deposits can be stratified or well-graded. Fresh volcanic ash is a lightweight, porous
sand or sandy gravel. The ash can weld together when it is deposited hot, or it can form a
soft rock known as tuff when it is partially decomposed, wetted, and then dried.

Glaciation. Glaciers grind, pluck, and plow the rocks and soils as they pass. When glac-
iers melt and retreat, they leave behind deposits of ground rock, clay, and blocks of ice
known as drift. The material laid down by glaciers is known as glacial till, the mixture of
the gravel, sand, silt, and clay ground up and carried within the glacier ice. Materials car-
ried by meltwater and deposited downstream are known as glacial outwash. Various types
of glacial deposits are discussed below.
Ground Moraines. Sometimes known as till plains, ground moraines are the irregular
layers of glacial till left in place when glaciers melt. They vary widely in their texture,
plasticity, and engineering properties.
Terminal Moraines These are mounds of glacial till that were pushed by glaciers act-
ing as bulldozers and left behind when the glaciers retreated. They can contain small,
localized deposits of glacial outwash.
Glacial Outwash This is soil debris, typically sand and small gravel, carried by melt-
water and deposited in valleys or broad sheets in front of a terminal moraine. They are
sorted by the variable velocity of the flowing water.
Eskers These are sinuous ridges of gravel and coarse sand. Remnants of rivers that
flowed in tunnels beneath the ice, eskers are good sources of granular fill materials.
Kames Irregular deposits of gravel and coarse sand formed along edges of ice sheets
are called kanes. They are good sources of granular fill materials.

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ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF ROCKS AND SOILS 6.11

Varved clay is a lake deposit that results from the seasonal melting of glaciers. It
forms thin layers of silt, deposited in summer, and clay, deposited in winter. Varved clay
is very uniform.

Gravity. Soil masses move under the action of gravity because of loss of shear strength,
which is mainly due to increased saturation in the rainy season. Other contributing factors
are removal of support at the base of the slope or an increased weight on, or of, the material.
Soil Creep This is the slow downhill movement of soils on moderate-to-steep slopes
due to softening (decrease in shear strength) caused by increased moisture content fol-
lowing periods of heavy rainfall. Sliding is incipient, but major movement does not occur.
Movement is intermittent and often is measured in centimeters or inches per decade. Soil
creep often is associated with residual soil deposits.
Landslides These are rapid movements of soil masses downhill on moderate to steep
slopes. Landslides and slope stability will be discussed further in Chapter 12. Landslides
result in somewhat heterogeneous mixtures of uphill deposits.
Colluvium This is the accumulation of soil at the foot of a slope and is caused mainly
by gravity, often as the result of extensive creeping of residual soils. Talus is included in
this broader term. The soil is fairly homogeneous.
Talus Finally, talus is the accumulation of rock fragments, usually angular, and soil
at the base of steep rock and/or soil slopes. It occurs because of erosion and/or landslides.
It results in a heterogeneous mixture of uphill deposits.

SOIL STRUCTURES

The structure, or fabric, of the components of natural soils depends on the soil minerals,
the amount and type of weathering, and on the deposition process. The two major soil type
groups, cohesionless and cohesive, react differently to direct compression (see Chapters 4
and 12), to shear deformation (see Chapter 5), and to vibration (see Chapters 7 and 12).

Cohesionless Soil
Coarse grained soils, Figure 6.8, consisting of gravel, sand, and inorganic silt particles,
have insignificant amounts of clay binder. Because the weight of individual grains is so
much greater than molecular forces, they derive shear strength from interparticle friction
and particle interlock. Depending on the mode of deposition and subsequent physical dis-
turbances, they can be either loose or dense. Because direct compression increases shear-
ing resistance, cohesionless soils are best densified by vibration that causes the grains in a
loose, unstable structure to move into a denser, more stable structure.

Cohesive Soil
Fine-grained cohesive soils, Figure 6.9, mainly are composed of clay particles, the char-
acter of which dominates the shear strength. The interparticle forces of the individual
grains due to gravity are insignificant compared to surface molecular forces of attraction
and repulsion. They derive strength, and resistance to compression, mainly from the
degree of packing (density) and the orientation of the clay platelets relative to each other.

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6.12 CHAPTER 6

Figure 6.8 Structures of cohesionless soils (after Sowers [2]).

FIGURE 6.9 Structures of cohesive soils (after Sowers [2]).

Mixed Grain Soil


Mixtures of coarse and fine grains, Figure 6.10, will have a behavior dependent on the
dominant soil type under a shear stress. If there is little clay binder, the mixtures will
behave like a cohesionless soil, with shear strength derived mainly from interparticle fric-
tion and particle interlock. When the clay content is sufficiently large that the coarse par-
ticles are prevented from any significant interparticle friction and particle interlock, then
the mixed grain soil behaves like a cohesive soil. The clay content at which one type of
behavior dominates over the other often is indistinct and gradational.

FIGURE 6.10 Structures of mixed grain soils containing coarse and fine grains (after Sowers [2]).

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ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF ROCKS AND SOILS 6.13

EXAMPLE PROBLEMS

EXAMPLE 6.1
Question:
In what ways does the engineering profile of a typical residual soil deposit formed in
igneous rock differ from an alluvial deposit formed adjacent to a river? Discuss varia-
tions in index properties and engineering properties horizontally and vertically.

Solution:
Because the amount of weathering of a residual soil deposit varies with depth, the index
properties, including the grain-size distribution and the Atterberg limits, also vary with
depth. The position of the water table determines the partial saturation zone and affects the
shear strength. Shear strength and compressibility also vary within fairly short depths but
are fairly uniform over short distances.
Because the pattern of deposition of fine-grained materials on an adjacent floodplain
occurs almost annually (if no levees are in place), the stratification tends to be uniform and
the soils filling a wide floodplain also tend to be uniform laterally. Shear strength tends to
be relatively low and compressibility tends to be high.

EXAMPLE 6.2
Question:
What was the major transportation agent for each of the following sedimentary soils: (a)
sand dunes, (b) alluvium, (c) glacial till, (d) volcanic ash, (e) talus, (f) varved clay.

Solution:
a. Sand dunes are wind-eroded beach sands, picked up by the wind and deposited on
nearby land.
b. Alluvium consists of the layers of sandy silt, silt, or silty clay that are formed on the
lowland when a sediment-laden stream overflows its banks.
c. Glacial till is the mixture of gravel, sand, silt, and clay ground up and carried within
glacier ice and deposited when the ice melted.
d. Volcanic ash is the fine-grained ash formed by volcanic explosion or aerial expul-
sion from a volcanic vent and deposited on nearby surfaces.
e. Talus is the accumulation of rock fragments, usually angular, and soil at the base of
steep rock and/or soil slopes.
f. Varved clay consists of lake deposits from seasonal meltings of a glacier that result
in alternating thin layers of silt, deposited in summer, and clay, deposited in winter.

EXAMPLE 6.3
Question:
Indicate areas where one would find the following surficial features or soil deposits: (a)
terminal moraine, (b) dune sand, (c) loess, (d) alluvium, and (e) colluvium?

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6.14 CHAPTER 6

Solution:
a. A terminal moraine is found where the movement of a glacier terminated. Therefore,
one would be found along the edges of the areas where the glaciers from the four
most recent glacial periods reached: namely, along the Canadian border in the north-
west, to southern Illinois in the midwest, and in major parts of New England.
b. A sand dune is always found next to an ocean or lake beach. The best known are
those along the Oregon and Washington coasts and along the southern end of Lake
Michigan.
c. Loess is found on bluffs along the downwind side of alluvial flood plains. The
downwind bluff areas of the Missouri River and the Mississippi River contain the
most extensive deposits.
d. Alluvium is deposited from overbank flows of flooded rivers. Alluvial deposits are
formed along nearly all rivers and can range from a few decameters (a few hundred
feet) to nearly 200 km (130 miles) in width.
e. Colluvium generally is associated with slopes in fine-grained soils where soil creep
and/or sliding typically occurs. Talus, a form of colluvium, forms as a fan wherever
major erosion occurs in rapidly moving streams in hillsides.

EXAMPLE 6.4
Question:
Which has the greatest potential landslide risk: (a) an interior sand dune (that is, one
away from an ocean or lake) having two horizontal slopes to one vertical slope, (b) a 5
m (15 ft) high vertical cut in loess, or (c) a cut in a shale deposit, the bedding of which
is inclined toward the open space? Explain your answer.

Solution:
The cut in the shale has the greatest landslide risk.
a. A sand dune having a 2:1 slope is generally stable and has a low potential landslide
risk. The most likely cause of a landslide in a dune is the removal of sand from the
toe, causing the slope angle to increase above the natural angle of repose.
b. A 5 m (15 ft) high vertical cut in loess is generally stable and has a low potential
landslide risk. The stability of loess is dependent on shear strength derived from par-
tial saturation. Experience in the Mississippi Valley and other locations has shown
that vertical slopes as high as 6 m (20 ft) can be stable for many decades unless the
water content is increased materially.
c. The part of a shale deposit exposed in a cut begins to deteriorate and soften due to
contact with the air. If the bedding of the deposit is inclined at an angle to the cut,
then there is a likelihood that sliding might occur, sooner or later.

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ENGINEERING GEOLOGY OF ROCKS AND SOILS 6.15

REFERENCES

1. Deere, D. U. and Patton, F. D. 1971. “Slope Stability in Residual Soils,” Fourth Panamerican
Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. American Society of Civil Engi-
neers. New York.
2. Sowers, G. F. 1979. Introductory Soil Mechanics and Foundations: Geotechnical Engineering.
Fourth edition, p.3. New York: Macmillan Publishing.
3. Hjulstrom, F. 1939. “Transportation of Detritus by Moving Water,” in Part 1. Transportation,
Recent Marine Sediments, A Symposium, Parker D. Trask, Ed. American Association of Petro-
leum Geologists. Tulsa, Oklahoma.
4. U. S. Army. April, 1981. “Construction of Earth and Rock-fill Dams,” Lecture notes, Corps of
Engineers Training Course. Geotechnical Laboratory. U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experi-
ment Station. Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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