subsoil
The last layer of soil to form a horizon is called Horizon C. This layer is often referred to as the parent material, as it is made up of weathered rock fragments that have not yet fully decomposed into soil. Horizon C is the layer closest to the bedrock and has the least amount of organic matter.
The second layer of a soil profile is called the B horizon. It is located beneath the topsoil (A horizon) and is often characterized by an accumulation of minerals leached from the topsoil above. The B horizon typically has a higher clay content and can also contain iron or aluminum oxides.
Soil layers are called soil horizons. Typically, a soil includes an A horizon, a B horizon and a C horizon. In laymen's terms: A horizon = topsoil B horizon = subsoil C horizon = parent material (the stuff in which the soil formed)
The A horizon, the uppermost layer in the soil profile, often is called the surface soil. It is the part of the soil in which life is most abundant in such forms as plant roots, bacteria, fungi, and small animals. It is the part in which organic matter is most abundant. The B horizon lies immediately beneath the A horizon and often is called the subsoil. Lying between the A and C horizons, it utilizes the properties of both. Living organisms are fewer than in the A horizon but more abundant than in the C horizon. THE C horizon is the deepest of the three major horizons. It consists of the loose and partly decayed rock beneath the A and B horizons. The rock material in the C horizon is of the same kind which now forms the bulk of the soil above it.
A horizon is often darker than B horizon or C horizon because it is the topsoil and the topsoil might be covered with litter. The litter decompose and as you know become soil and it will be fresh soil. So the fresh soil is darker than B and C horizon
c horizon is not subsoil it is parent material
horizon A , horizon B and horizon C
The vertical layers of soil are called soil horizons. These horizons are classified based on their composition, texture, color, and other characteristics, and they include the O horizon (organic matter), A horizon (topsoil), B horizon (subsoil), C horizon (parent material), and sometimes the R horizon (bedrock).
Below the C horizon in soil are the unconsolidated parent material or bedrock that has not been weathered or altered. This layer is called the R horizon and consists of solid rock, such as granite or limestone.
The B horizon typically contains clay, organic matter, minerals, and nutrients that have leached down from the topsoil and accumulated. It is often richer in nutrients than the underlying C horizon.
Because of the way soil forms, soil often ends up in a series of horizontal layers called soil horizons. These layers are categorized based on their composition, color, texture, and other properties, and they form as a result of the accumulation and transformation of organic matter and minerals over time.
The C horizon contains mainly parent material, while the B horizon contains mainly clay particles and the A horizon; mainly silt sized particles and humus