ENGINEERING CHARACTERISTICS OF SATURATED SOFT LOESS IN XI'AN REGION

Saturated soft loess is a special soil in the loess area,Xi'an,China.This paper presents the surveying results ofthe saturated soft loess at the urban area and the northern railway area in Xi'an.The paper further presents and analyzes the spatial distribution and the physical properties of saturated soft loess.The differences between the spatial distributions of the two areas are discussed.The causes of forming the saturated soft loess in the two areas are examined.A hypothesis that there is saturated soft loess in the upper perched water zone is suggested.