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Welcome to the UC Davis Soil Monolith Collection!

This website showcases the collection of soil monoliths on display in the Plant and Environmental Sciences building at UC Davis. The collection was created by Professor Frank F. Harradine who collected soils from across the United States from 1958 to 1959. The collection includes soils that are found throughout California and the rest of the United States.

Following the links on the left, you can see images of each soil monolith and information about how the soil developed and what it is used for.  There are also links to useful resources that can give you more information on how soils are classified and described.

What is a soil monolith?

A soil monolith is a vertical slice of soil showing how the soil appears in nature.  Soil monoliths display many characteristics of soils, including soil horizons (layers), soil structure, and soil color.  They are taken from the field and imbedded with a fixative.