Pennsylvania Soil Formation Quiz

The Development and Formation of Soils in Pennsylvania

• Soil reflects the geological and climatic history of the region where it is found
• The mineral component of the soil was once part of the molten liquid at the earth’s core
• Weathering is the process by which solid rock slowly and continually crumbles and disintegrates
• Organic matter includes the decomposing and decomposed parts of animal and plant material and a multitude of soil organisms
• Parent material is the medium in which soil develops, and it is usually weathered rock in Pennsylvania
• Vegetation contributes to soil development and reveals much about soil conditions
• Pennsylvania has a humid climate, with an annual rainfall ranging from 34 to 50 inches
• Mature soil has its own soil structure which is composed of aggregates of sand and silt held together by clay and organic matter
• The southeastern part of the state has a band of very old metamorphic rock lying under the soil
• Soils in the southeastern and northwestern edges of Pennsylvania are derived from sands deposited when this land was once seashore
• Limestone soils are the most fertile and bedrock is the source of important soil properties
• Transported parent material can be glacial, aeolian, colluvial, or alluvial in origin, with glacial till deposits consisting of rock material of all kinds and sizes