Unified Soil Classification System

Adapted from Basic Soils Engineering

B.K. Hough copyright 1957 The Ronald Press Company

Major Divisions Pattern Code Description

GW Well-graded gravels or gravel-sand mixtures, little or no fines

GRAVEL AND CLEAN
GRAVELLY GRAVELS (little
SOILS or no fines) Poorly graded gravels or gravel-sand mixtures, little or no fines
GP
COARSE
GRAINED
SOILS Silty gravels, gravel-sand-silt mixtures
GM
More than half
GRAVELS
of coarse
WITH FINES
fraction is larger
(appreciable
than No. 4- Clayey gravels, gravel-sand-clay mixtures
sieve size.
amount of fines) GC

SW Well-graded sands or gravelly sands, little or no fines

CLEAN SANDS
SAND AND
(little or no
SANDY SOILS
fines) Poorly graded sands or gravelly sands, little or no fines
SP
More than half of
material is larger
than No. 200-
sieve size. SM Silty sands, sand-silt mixtures
More than half
SAND WITH
of coarse
FINES
fraction is
(appreciable
smaller than No. Clayey sands, sand-clay mixtures
4-sieve size.
amount of fines) SC

ML Inorganic silts and very fine sands, rock flour, silty or clayey fine
sands, or clayey silts with slight placticity

FINE GRAINED Liquid limit less CL Inorganic clays of low to medium plasticity
SOILS than 50

OL Organic silts and organic silt-clays of low plasticity

SILTS AND
CLAYS
MH Inorganic silts, micaceous or diatomaceous fine sandy or silty
soils, elastic silts

More than half of

material is Liquid limit CH Inorganic clays of high plasticity, fat clays
smaller than No. greater than 50
200-sieve size.

OH Organic clays of medium to high plasticity, organic silts

PT Peat and other highly organic soils

HIGHLY ORGANIC SOILS