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Adventure #4:
What makes soil different?
Soil is very different depending on two things: location and the size of the particles.
Location is the first thing that changes drastically in different areas. Some places have lots of water and some places are very dry. This will cause some soil to be wet and stick together. Other soil will not stick together because there is no water and, in turn, no plants growing around.
Think about the differences in soil from a desert place like Bruneau Sand Dunes in Idaho or up near Coeur d'Alene.
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Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene
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Bruneau Sand Dunes
Bruneau Sand Dunes
More specifically, what about particle sizes?
As scientists, the key to identifying things is having a good classification system. Classifying things is completely normal and works very well to understand what type of soil or dirt we are talking about.
Grain sizes are the sizes of individual grains of dirt. The smallest of all the dirt particles come from rocks being grinded down over a very long period of time.
In science, there are 3 main types of particle sizes available that scientists use for identifying soil.
If you look to the right, there is a chart showing the different grain sizes in soils.
How does particle size affect infiltration?
Lance Vanlewen
Bigger Particles
Bigger Particles
The bigger the grains the more space is between them. If you think about the section before this on porosity, larger holes mean there is more space for water to fill. This means that water makes its way easily down into the water table and aquifers. These places are much less likely to experience a flood.
Rodney Burton
Smaller Particles
Smaller Particles
Again, using the idea of porosity, the smaller the grains, the less space between them. This means that water has a much harder time infiltrating the soil. In these areas, there is a much higher flood risk due to the water not having somewhere to go.
Since you've completed the porosity section it is time to look at another factor of infiltration: Soil type. Click on the link below to see different locations and how they influence floods.
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