Vertisols
Vertisols (from Latin verto, "turn") are clay-rich soils that shrink and swell with changes in moisture content. During dry periods, the soil volume shrinks and deep wide cracks form. The soil volume then expands as it wets up. This shrink/swell action creates serious engineering problems and generally prevents formation of distinct, well-developed horizons in these soils. They are divided into six suborders: Aquerts, Cryerts, Xererts, Torrerts, Usterts and Uderts.
Globally, Vertisols occupy approximately 2.4% of the ice-free land area. In the U.S., they occupy approximately 2% of the land area and occur primarily in Texas.
Aquerts
Vertisols with a water table at or near the surface for much of the year
Usterts (India)
Vertisols of semiarid and subhumid climates
Uderts (Texas)
Vertisols of humid climates
Vertisol Landscape Patterns
Gilgai, which are small-scale undulations or mounds and depressions in the land surface, and slickensides, which are polished and grooved surfaces within the soil profile formed by the shrinking and swelling of clay-rich materials
Vertisol Features
Vertisols are a soil order characterized by high clay content, significant shrink-swell behavior and the presence of deep, wide cracks that open and close periodically