This course covers measurement and interpretation of soil properties and the principles of site investigation. Students will identify the principle components of the surficial geology of the Edmonton region. Site investigation methods, sampling techniques and plotting of borehole logs will be presented. Students will perform grain size and plasticity index tests on soils, perform soil classification, and calculate mass-volume quantities. They will conduct and apply compaction control tests for monitoring of soil density during fill placement. Geotechnical tests used in engineering design are presented, including unconfined compression, consolidation, direct shear, permeability, and erodibility tests.