Origin, mode of formation of uniformity studies on soils of some physiographic units of Halaib and Shalateen area, Egypt [electronic resource].

Includes references.

This investigation was perfomed using the soils of Halaib and Shalateen area in order to evaluate their genesis and degree of homogeneity. Accordingly, eight soil profiles were selected to represent the main physiographic units of this area. The grain size distribution indicates that these soils are mainly coarse texture (sand to sand clay loam). Moreover, the statistical size parameters indicate that these soils are formed by water sediments which mainly transported by rivers and tractive, and turbidity currents, strongly coarse to coarse skewed, very platy to platy and mesokurtic. Mineralogical composition of the sand fraction reveal that the light fraction is generally dominated by quartz with less pronounced amounts of feldspars. The heavy minerals are composed essentially of opaques followed by pyrcboles, (pyroxene + amphipoles). Epidote, zircon, tourmaline and rutile are detected in moderate amounts, while staurolite, garnite, kyanite, silimailite, biotite, monazite and andolusite occur in variable little amounts. Uniformity and weathering rations indicate that these soils are heterogeneous either due to their multiorigin or due to subsequent variations along the course of sedimentation, thus the soils are considered young from the pedological point of view.

Summary in Arabic.

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