Soil is organized into layers called horizons; the top layer is the topsoil. West Virginia has seven of the twelve main global soil types. The quality depends on the underlying rock (like limestone, sandstone, or shale).

• Valleys in the Eastern Panhandle are often good for farming due to underlying limestone.

• High elevations have the poorest soil in terms of nutrients.

• The Ohio River area has some of the state's best farming soil.

Even without glaciers, the Ice Age had a major impact on our soils. Cold weather and melting ice formed ancient lakes and left behind gravel and sandy deposits near the Ohio River. Wind blew fine silt and sand, creating sand dunes and silty hillside soils near the Ohio Valley.

Activities such as logging, mining, and building have caused erosion and reduced the quality of the topsoil. It is very hard to find completely undisturbed soil in West Virginia today.

The State Soil is the Monongahela silt loam, a productive farming soil.