Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
2
CHAPTER TWO
Soil Exploration
Chapter 2 deals with
in situ
evaluation of soil properties, including
reconnaissance, steps of soil exploration (boring, sampling, and testing),
and the record of field exploration. The remaining chapters (except the
in-place density tests and the percolation test) deal with evaluation of
soil properties in a laboratory setting.
INTRODUCTION
A reconnaissance is a preliminary examination or survey of a job site.
Usually, some useful information on the area (e.g., maps or aerial pho-
tographs) will already be available, and an astute person can learn
much about surface conditions and get a general idea of subsurface con-
ditions by simply visiting the site, observing thoroughly and carefully,
and properly interpreting what is seen.
The first step in the preliminary soil survey of an area should be to
collect and study any pertinent information that is already available.
This could include general geologic and topographical information avail-
able in the form of geologic and topographic maps, obtainable from fed-
eral, state, and local governmental agencies (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey,
Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and
various state geologic surveys).
RECONNAISSANCE
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