Question

What type of soil is found in the river deltas of the eastern coast? Give three main features of this type of soil.

Answer 1

The type of soil which is found in the river deltas of the Eastern Coast are Alluvial Soil.

• Alluvial soil is also found in the eastern coastal plains particularly in the deltas of the Kaveri river, Krishna river, Mahanadi river, and the Godavari river.
• Alluvial soil is deposited by 3 important Himalayan river systems – Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus river.
• The complete Northern plains of India is constituted with Alluvial soil
• Alluvial soil is the most important and widely spread soil.

Features of Alluvial Soil:

• Alluvial soils in the drier areas can be productive after irrigation and proper treatment as they are more alkaline.
• The alluvial soil is very fertile.
• Due to the high fertility of Alluvial soil many crops are cultivated in this soil.
• The crops which are grown in alluvial soil are pulse crops, cereals, wheat, paddy, and sugarcane.
• The alluvial soil contains adequate proportions of lime, phosphoric acid and potash.
• The alluvial soil is coarse in the upper reaches of the river valley.
• Such soils are more common in piedmont plains such as Terai, Chos, and Duars.
• Soil particles look bigger in size, as we move inlands towards the river valleys.
• Alluvial soil has various proportions of clay, silt and sand.
• Alluvial soil is also described on the basis of age apart from components and size of the grains in the soil.
• On the basis of age, alluvial soil is classified into Khadar (new alluvial soil) and Bangar (old alluvial soil).
• Khadar soil is more fertile than bangar and Khadar type of alluvial soil has more fine particles.
• kanker nodules are found in higher concentration in Khadar soil than in Bangar type of Alluvial soil