The Effect of Geomorphology on Engineering Geology Properties of Alluvial Deposits in Mashhad City

In this study, engineering geomorphology of Mashhad City is evaluated. For this purpose, aerial photos of the city, 180 drinking water wells and 1500 scattered geotechnical boreholes have been studied. Based on this information, the city divided into 6 geomorphologic units including rock outcrop, pediment, Golestan fan, Torough fan, southern fans and flat plain. Then, engineering geology properties of these units were investigated based on the geotechnical data sets. The geotechnical properties were evaluated just for the upper 10m of deposits. The results show predominant soil in the pediment and southern fans units is gravel, sandy and gravely soils are predominant in the Golestan fan unit, whereas clay and sand are predominant soils in the Torough fan and flat plain. In this study, earth evaluation was carried out based on the standard penetration test that shows the pediment unit has more resistance than other units. The clay minerals were determined based on the activity chart. Smectite and kaolinite are predominant clay minerals in the pediment and flat plain units, respectively.