Soil Formation

I n the beginning the earth's crust was made of rock.These rocks were heated by the sun and cooled by rain. Alternate heating and cooling cracks the rocks.
Sometimes it rains over heated rocks causing them to break due to sudden contraction. When it rains over cracked rocks, water enters cracks. In winter this water freezes to ice. Ice in the crevices of rocks expands and breaks them into smaller pieces. Due to strong winds and other natural causes, rocks hit each other and break into small pieces. Sometimes the roots of the trees enter the crevices of the rock.The roots grow and require more space for themselves and the rocks break. The acids produced by the roots of some plants also help to break the rocks. Moving water of streams,waterfalls, and rivers also break large rocks into smaller pieces. The action of sun, water,ice, wind and plants results in the breaking of huge rocks to form soil. The process is known as weathering of rocks.
 Soil formation is a slow process and is occurring all the time. It takes thousands of years to form a layer of soil a few centimeters in thickness.