Earth Manual — Part 1

The United States Bureau of Reclamation has published Part 1 of its Earth Manual, Third Edition, available here for downloading. With 311 pages and 157 figures, the Earth Manual comprehensively covers the engineering of earthen structures. Extensive bibliographies supplement each chapter. An exhaustive index references and cross-references hundreds of terms in the book.

Part 1, presenting the principles and theories of earth engineering, follows the 1990 publication of Part 2, Third Edition. Part 2 contains standard procedures for investigating and testing soil materials. The Government Printing Office sells Part 1 and Part 2 as hard-bound books.

Chapter 1, "Properties of Soils," covers soil classification, index properties, and engineering properties, including many mathematical relationships.

Chapter 2, "Investigations," focuses on methods for determination of the qualities of the earth that structures are built with and upon. This chapter includes sections on "Principles of Investigations," "Exploratory Methods," "Sampling and Testing Methods," and "Recording and Reporting of Data." The Third Edition expands upon previous editions' treatments of drilling and remote sensing.

Chapter 3, "Control of Earth Construction," details the considerations necessary to ensure that the nearby materials used in various types of earth construction meet the design specifications. This chapter describes construction control for foundations, embankment dams, canals, pipelines, miscellaneous features, and stabilized soils.

Download the entire Earth Manual in a 5-MB pdf (portable document format) file.

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GPO (the US Government Printing Office) sells Part 1 and Part 2.