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Types of Soil in Egypt

According to Hasan Hamdi and Sayed Abdelhafez, authors of "Agriculture and Soil Survey in Egypt," most of the Egyptian geography is comprised of the Nile Valley, the coastal regions of the Mediterranean and Red seas, the Western and Eastern deserts, and the Sinai Peninsula. Soils in Egypt are characteristic of these areas, and are created through the process of erosion, flooding, and sedimentary layers.

Alluvial Soils
- Alluvial comes from the Latin words "to wash against." Alluvial soils are formed by fine sediment deposits. These deposits are created when rocks from the mountains erode and are transported by water down into the rivers, lakes and the floor of a valley. The alluvial soils in Egypt are located in the Nile valley and delta, and are the direct result of the Nile River's seasonal flooding. Alluvial soils that are formed by river sediment deposits are called fluvial. The alluvial fluvial soil of the Nile valley is fine-grained and extremely fertile, because it is composed of natural minerals and organic material. These natural components are essential to the farmers who cultivate the land in and around the valley and delta regions of the Nile.
Calcareous Soils and Marine Soils
- Calcareous soils and marine soils in Egypt are found along the coastal areas of the Mediterranean and Red seas. Both types of soils are found close to the shore, but calcareous soils are normally deposited at the foot of slopes, called colluvial, while marine soils are deposited at the edge of the sea or ocean. Calcareous soils form from a mixture of eroded rock fragments and materials that collect at the bottom of steep hills or mountains. Marine soils are created by eroded materials that travel down streams and rivers towards the sea, where they are deposited on the shore.
Arenosols Soils
- The arenosols soils in Egypt are transported and deposited via the wind, called eolian. Arenosols soils are created when particles in the wind grind and erode or "sandblast" the surface areas of rock, like sandstone, leaving behind loose fine or gravelly sandy deposits, called psamments. Some areas of Egypt, such as the Sinai Peninsula, have arenosols soils that contain not only sand but also loam or clay. Arenosols soils can be fine, medium or coarse-grained, and because they contain little to no water will shift and blow around frequently. Very few plants can grow in arenosols soil because of its virtual lack of organic matter and nutrients.

Rocks & Minerals