The thick (from 5 to 20 m and more) clayey weathering crust in the South Urals is a product of deep physical and chemical processing and disintegration of Paleozoic rocks in the Mesozoic. Clays (60%), medium and heavy loams (30-35%) prevail. The results of statistical processing of tests of 102 monoliths indicate the heterogeneity of properties, especially the strength characteristics of rocks.
Soil moisture W was studied in 18 reference sections confined to watersheds and slopes composed of dealluvial loams and clays (dQ); I and II terraces, with alluvial loam and clay cover (aQ). The distribution of W in both samples is close to the normal law with arithmetic mean values of X. Scatter of W values, judging by mean square deviation and coefficient of variation on river terraces indicates significant variability of this parameter, much more than in deluvium on uplands, where the variation series has moderate and low heterogeneity.
