Classifying Soils There are many variations from place to place and from time to time among the factors that control soil formation. These differences lead to a bewildering variety of soil types. To cope with such variety, it is essential to devise some means of classifying the vast array of data to be studied. By establishing groups consisting of items that have certain important characteristics in common, order and simplicity are introduced. Bringing order to large quantities of information not only aids comprehension and understanding but also facilitates analysis and explanation.