ABSTRACT
A part of the eastern Himalayas, Sikkim, is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates, as well as being a host to Kangchendzonga, the highest mountain peak in India and the third highest in the world. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Precambrian gneissic and Daling group of rocks with some intermediatories cover the major portion of the state. The gneissic group constitutes mainly the Himalayas. The Daling group consists of predominantly phyllites and schist. The slopes on these rocks are highly susceptible to weathering and prone to erosion and landslide. As a major part of Sikkim lies on Darjeeling gneiss, the soil developed from this rock is brown clay, generally shallow and poor in lime, magnesia, phosphorus and nitrogen. However, it is quite rich in potassium. The texture of the soil is loamy sand to silty clay loam. The depth of the soil overburden varies from 30 to 150 cm and in some cases, even more than 150 cm. The soils are typically coarse with poor organic mineral nutrients. The soils are gritty to gravel from highly micaceous to sandy loam or pebbly and at places soft and chalky to stony in texture. The colour varies from grey to dark black or dark yellow. The colour, texture and depth of the soils have been influenced by the nature of the parent rocks. Shallow foundations in the form of isolated/strip footings are suitable for the typical low-rise structures constructed in this state.
