12 Soil Orders

There are twelve different soil orders in the world. The soil orders are distinct and reflect the natural climate of the area in which they are found. The soil order found in Georgia is Ultisol also known as red clay. The other eleven orders are as follows: Alfisols, this is usually found in forests and is high in aluminum and iron; Andisols, found in the northwest and includes weathered soil and volcanic glass; Aridisols, found in the deserts of the southwest and consists of dry sand; Entisols, found all over the U.S.A. and is very shallow and sandy; Gelisols, found in the north and consists of permafrost; Histosols, found in swamps and marshes and made of bog muck and mud; Inceptisols, found in humid and sub humid areas; Mollisols, a dark colored soil that is great for farming, Oxisols, tropical soil that is made up of quartz, kaolin, free oxides, and organic matter; Spodosols, a silty and sandy soil made up of aluminum and organic matter; Vertisols, a dry clayey soil that develops deep wide cracks across its surface as it expands.