The structure of the Earth - The Mechanics of Soils and Foundations - page 52

4.7 Importance of geology in geotechnical engineering
It is obvious that an understanding of the geology of a location will aid the interpreta-
tion of ground investigations. All soils were deposited or formed in situ in one of only
a few characteristic environments. These environments, together with later geological
events, determine the nature and state of soils and rocks. Very nearly all the envi-
ronments that have occurred on Earth can be found somewhere in the world today.
What you have to do is find a geologist who can identify the geological environment of
a deposit for you. Do not ask the geologist what the soil or rock is as you can usually
see what it is yourself; instead, ask how did it get there (i.e. how was it deposited) and
what has happened to it since.
The most important thing to remember is that natural soils and rocks arrived where
they are and have the properties they have through natural geological processes; there
was no divine intervention mixing things up and changing them around. For every
site there is a geological story to be told which explains how all the natural geological
materials got there and why they are as they are. If you cannot tell the geological story
for your site you do not understand it properly and the chances are you will make a
mistake designing the groundwork.
Further reading
Blyth, F. G. H. and M. H. De Freitas (1984) A Geology for Engineers , Butterworth-Heinemann
Ltd.
Fookes, P. G. and P. R. Vaughan (1986) A Handbook of Engineering Geomorphology , Surrey
University Press.
Gass, I. G., P. J. Smith and R. C. L. Wilson (1971) Understanding the Earth , Open University
Press, Sussex.
Holmes, A. H. (1993) Principles of Physical Geology , Nelson, London.
ICE (1976) Manual of Applied Geology for Engineers , ICE, London.
McLean, A. C. and C. D. Gribble (1985) Geology for Civil Engineers , Chapman & Hall,
London.
Read, H. H. and J. Watson (1970) Beginning Geology , Macmillan, London.
Waltham, A. C. (2001) Foundations of Engineering Geology , Spon.