ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews the origin, formation and occurrence of residual soils with special emphasis on those of the tropical region.
Soils constitute the multi-phased interface stratum formed by the interaction of the lithosphere with the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. This dynamism may be expressed WKURXJKWKHPHWDSKRURIWKHHDUWKDVDQHQJLQHZKHUHWKHDWPRVSKHUHLVWKHZRUNLQJÀXLGRI the earth’s heat engine (Ingersoll 1983). This drives the dynamics on the terrestrial surface expressed through the operation of physical and chemical processes at the earth’s surface resulting in the formation of soils.
