Description and Identification of Soils (Visual-Manual Procedure) - Soil Properties: Testing, Measurement, and Evaluation - page 35

Table 3-13 Checklist for Description of Soils [1]

1. Group name
2. Group symbol
3. Percent of cobbles or boulders, or both (by volume)
4. Percent of gravel, sand, or fines, or all three (by dry weight)
5. Particle-size range:

Gravel—fine, coarse
Sand—fine, medium, coarse
6. Particle angularity: angular, subangular, subrounded, rounded
7. Particle shape (if appropriate): flat, elongated, flat and elongated
8. Maximum particle size or dimension
9. Hardness of coarse sand and larger particles
10. Plasticity of fines: nonplastic, low, medium, high
11. Dry strength: none, low, medium, high, very high
12. Dilatancy: none, slow, rapid
13. Toughness: low, medium, high
14. Color (in moist condition)
15. Odor (mention only if organic or unusual)
16. Moisture: dry, moist, wet
17. Reaction with HCl: none, weak, strong
For intact samples:
18. Consistency (fine-grained soils only): very soft, soft, firm, hard, very hard
19. Structure: stratified, laminated, fissured, slickensided, lensed, homogeneous
20. Cementation: weak, moderate, strong
21. Local name
22. Geologic interpretation
23. Additional comments: presence of roots or root holes, presence of mica, gypsum,
etc., surface coatings on coarse-grained particles, caving or sloughing of auger hole
or trench sides, difficulty in augering or excavating, etc.

about 30% fine to coarse, subrounded sand; about 20% fines
with medium plasticity, high dry strength, no dilatancy,
medium toughness; weak reaction with HCl; original field
sample had about 5% (by volume) subrounded cobbles, maxi-
mum dimension, 150 mm.

In-Place Conditions —Firm, homogeneous, dry, brown
Geologic Interpretation —Alluvial fan

Note 10 —If desired, the percentages of gravel, sand, and fines
may be stated in terms indicating a range of percentages, as
follows:

Trace —Particles are present, but estimated to be less than 5%

Few —5% to 10%
Little —15% to 25%
Some —30% to 45%
Mostly —50% to 100%
(2) If, in the soil description, the soil is identified using a classifi-
cation group symbol and name as described in Test Method D 2487,