Soil Profile Color Codes

[DirtMike]

Does anyone know of any standards related to color-coding soil types for representing subsurface profiles (for example blue for clay, yellow for sand, etc.)? I haven't had any luck finding anything. Any input would be much appreciated.

Mike

 

[TDAA]

Company preference. Also depends on the types you see. That is what a legend is for. I would use a texture in the log as well, and avoid colors that do not copy well (yellow).

We acually just use different hatches, and they are all black and white. Bedrock is more filled in, giving a darker overalll appearance.

 

[fattdad]

Here's an idea: Use colors in the order of the rainbow where red is the soil layer (or profile item) that most critical to your design.

O.K. if you don't like that idea, I also trend toward the yellows and browns for sands and gravels and the reds and blues for silts and clays. That said, I have too much fun with this to worry about an official color scheme.

f-d

¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

 

[dgillette]

And remember the chromovisually impaired. (I just made that word up.) Check your color scheme with a colorblind guy, or just use B&W patterns like TDAA. Olive, green, brown, taupe, rust, maroon, red, and tan can get mixed up. Some purples and blues are hard to distinguish from each other. Cyan might as well be light gray. Also, consider that the reports may someday be copied on a regular B&W copy machine.

Best regards,
DRG
President,
National Colorblind Liberation Front

 

[fattdad]

DRG makes another great point - no matter what you do, it should hold up under black and white photocopying. Geologic maps (with all their color) are intended in this fashion. Notice how each map area has a unique letter code that is properly identified in the "Explanation". This is critical in my mind as well.

fatt geologist-turned-engineer dad

¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

 

[BigH]

I worked for one of eastern Canada's oldest geotechnical firms (1954 incorporation). Historically, they did a lot of watercolour of stratigraphic sections and borehole logs - then went to coloured pencils. Each "print" done separately - not photocopied. If I remember correctly, we used yellow for sands and gravels, light green for clays, blue for silts, purple (or a purplish blue) for tills and red for bedrock. However, in all cases, the stratigraphy had a specific "background" symbol - i.e., vertical lines for silt, diagonal lines for clay, little quote marks for varved clays in between the diagonal lines, dots and 'open' round for sands and gravels, tildes for peat, and a "Boston Garden" Celtic floor pattern for bedrock. Of course, most firms have their own way of doing things - but the colouring looks nice - but you need the "symboling" in order to ensure what is what when photocopying.

 

[DirtMike]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll keep the B&W reproduction and colorblindness in mind as I work on getting this standardized for our company.

 

[emmgjld]

I have used the general color coding used in USGS Mapping as a guide.
--Note the prominent use of pastel shades, which do not copy or FAX as black.
--Lettering within the color block is readable.
--The colors are 'pleasing to the eye' without harshness.
--Similar rock (or soil) groupings are the same general color and your eye can quickly identify a given type.

Shading, symbols or other markings must not cover other detail or distract the eye too much.

 

[jdonville]

DirtMike,

Many DOTs have standard hatch/fill patterns depending on the classification of the soil (or non-soil material). Additionally, there are traditional hatch/fill patterns for many types of soil and rock.

The following link (page 4) shows the symbols used by the Ohio DOT for use in soil profiles:

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/geotechnical/SFSI/PDF/AppendixA.pdf

Typically, the hatching is only shown on the "stick log" for each boring, while lines denoting the approximate boundaries of strata are drawn in between borings. The following file shows an example produced using the IL DOT classification system and hatching:

http://www.gintsoftware.com/downloads/reports/il_dot_fence.pdf

Jeff