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The soils of India are classified into the following types:

1. Alluvial Soil.
2. Black Soil.
3. Red and Yellow Soil.
4. Laterite Soil.
5. Arid Soil
6. Forest Soil.

Alluvial soil consists of various proportions of sand, silt and clay. It is basically of two types: Khadar and Bangar. It is found mainly in the Northern Plains and Coastal Strips of the Eastern Coast.

Arid soils range from red to brown in colour. They are generally sandy in texture and saline in nature. It is found in the arid areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

Black soils are made up of extremely fine i.e. clayey material. It is derived from the Deccan Traps. It occurs in areas like Maharashtra, Western, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It is known for the cultivation of cotton.

These soils are found in the hilly and mountainous areas where sufficient rainforests are available. The soils texture varies according to the mountain environment where they are formed.

It is the intensively reached soil of the monsoon climate. It develops in areas with high temperature and heavy rainfall. It is found in the hills of the Deccan, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and parts of Assam and Meghalaya.

Yellow and Red Soils are found in parts of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Southern Parts of the middle Ganga plain and along the piedmont zone of the Western Ghats. These soils develop a reddish colour due to diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.