Forces of Change

Where in the Soil World Are You?

Volcanic soil
Art by Matthew Frey/Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. © Smithsonian Institution
Siberian permafrost
Art by Matthew Frey/Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. © Smithsonian Institution
South American grassland
Art by Matthew Frey/Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc. © Smithsonian Institution

Clue 1 - What’s all this gray stuff? Ash?

Clue 2 - Oops! Someone lost her flip-flop.

Clue 3 - Why are some dark layers of topsoil buried?

Clue 1 - Brrrrr! It’s icy way down here!

Clue 2 - Is that a woolly mammoth tusk?

Clue 3 - Lots of dark brown plant compost is slowly decaying.

Clue 1 - These long roots are “home on the range.”

Clue 2 - Did a gaucho lose his spur?

Clue 3 - The topsoil is deep, dark, and fertile.

Answer Rollover Answer Rollover Answer Rollover
Inceptisol profile
Inceptisol profile
Hari Eswaran/USDA NRCS