The purpose of the soil analysis is to study the beach characteristics of

different coasts of Balochistan. Three sites Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir were

selected. The Gaddani coast is known as sandy cum rocky shore, Sonmiani as sandy cum

muddy shore while Kund Malir is sandy. Three different stations were selected on each

site for sampling. At each station, five different samples were collected. At all three sites,

the amount of medium and fine sand showed greater amount and very fine sand depicted

lesser. The results showed that soil samples collected from three coasts mostly have

highest fraction of find sand and lowest portions of very fine sand. At Sonmiani the soil

composition is fine sand and very fine sand as compared to Gadani where the soil is of

fine sand and medium sand and at Kund Malir the soil is of fine sand along with medium

sand but very fine sand also present

Abdullah, Muhammad

Ahmed, Noor

Arsalan, A.

Bano, Azra

Khan, Asadullah

Saleem, Gohar

Zahid, Muhammad Aleem

Aquatic Commons

Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 24(1&2), 87-96, 2015.  
 
A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF SOIL ANALYSIS OF SONMIANI, 
GADANI AND KUND MALIR COASTS OF DISTRICT LASBELA, 
BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN 
 
Azra Bano, Muhammad Aleem Zahid, Arsalan, Muhammad Abdullah,  
Asadullah Khan, Gohar Saleem and Noor Ahmed 
Faculty of Marine Sciences, Lasbela University of Agriculture Water and Marine 
Science, Uthal, Balochistan, Pakistan - 90250  
email: azrabano2006@yahoo.com; phone: +92-0853-610919 
 
ABSTRACT: The purpose of the soil analysis is to study the beach characteristics of 
different coasts of Balochistan. Three sites Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir were 
selected. The Gaddani coast is known as sandy cum rocky shore, Sonmiani as sandy cum 
muddy shore while Kund Malir is sandy. Three different stations were selected on each 
site for sampling. At each station, five different samples were collected. At all three sites, 
the amount of medium and fine sand showed greater amount and very fine sand depicted 
lesser. The results showed that soil samples collected from three coasts mostly have 
highest fraction of find sand and lowest portions of very fine sand. At Sonmiani the soil 
composition is fine sand and very fine sand as compared to Gadani where the soil is of 
fine sand and medium sand and at Kund Malir the soil is of fine sand along with medium 
sand but very fine sand also present. 
 
KEYWORDS: Sonmiani, Gadani, Kund Malir, soil analysis, Balochistan. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
Geographically Pakistan is located at 23.3° to 36.45° N latitude and 61° to 75.5° E 
longitude located in south Asia has a distinctive position (Salma et al., 2012). The 
coastline of Pakistan borders the productive NE Arabian Sea well-known for its 
upwelling phenomenon (Banse, 1968, 1987; Haq and Milliman, 1985). Its Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) covers an area of 196,600 sq km and the territorial waters cover 
an area of 24,000 km2 (Valencia, 2004; Khan and Rabbani, 2000). Coastal area of 
Pakistan extends 1050 km (650 mi) and is spread in two provinces that are Balochistan 
and Sindh in which Balochistan contains enough area as 65 % and remaining 33 % is in 
Sindh province (Ali et al., 2003; Saifullah and Rasool, 2002). The coastal area of 
Balochistan lies in almost arid zone (little precipitation; 1-100 mm/ year) and is located in 
two districts Lasbela and Gwadar (Khattak, et al., 2012; Burke et al., 2005). The 
continental shelf of the Sindh coast extends to a distance of 150 km whereas, that of 
Balochistan only measures 15-40 km (Qureshi, 2011). The prevailing ocean current 
direction is clockwise during the southwest monsoon season and anti-clockwise during 
the northeast monsoon season. The salinity value is on average 36 ppt (Saifullah, and 
Rasool, 2002). Tides are neither very high nor very low, but intermediate; the mean 
average height is about 10-11 feet (Harrison et al., 1997). Tides are higher on the eastern 
side and their velocity is in general between 1-2 knots but may increase to 4 knots in 
narrow creeks. 
Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 24(1&2), 2015. 
  
88 
The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75% of the 
total coast length, or about 800 km (500 mi) (Rasool et al., 2002). These steep mountains 
rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). The majority of the coast is 
underdeveloped, with deserted beaches and only a few fishing villages. The coast is 
rocky and tectonic in origin as evidenced by the uplifted terraces, headlands and fluted 
beds. The mud volcanoes nearby the shores additional support this. The coastline is 
generally an exposed desert with distinctive landforms such as sandy beaches, mud flats, 
rocky cliffs, headlands, bays, deltas, and so forth (Sayied, 2007). 
Soil is one of the chief and expensive possessions of the environment. The all living 
organisms directly or indirectly rely on soil. Soil has complex function which is helpful 
to human and other life form. Marine ecological condition such as temperature, pH, 
salinity, nutrients, sediments and soil texture discover composing the fauna and flora. 
Enhance temperature, low salinity sediment nutrients and accessibility of organic matter 
found to support the growth and distribution of microorganisms. Microbes like fungus, 
bacteria and other tiny life form existing surrounded by the soil are also significant and 
therefore soil is a vigorous medium made up of mineral deposits, macrobiotic matter, 
aquatic, atmosphere and microorganisms (Vijayakumar et al., 2007).  
Sediments consists of fine sorted grains contrasted with poorly sorted grains. Sorting 
express the distribution of grain sizes of sediments, either in unconsolidated deposits or 
in sedimentary rocks. 
Soils are commonly made up of varying combination of three sizes of soil particles; 
sand, silt and clay, which are recognized as soil texture. In general, water retention is 
inversely related to permeability. Sandy soils have the poor water retention, followed by 
silt, and clay (Dexter, 2004). 
Soil has three phases (Dexter and Czyz, 2000). The solid phase is mixture of 
minerals and organic matter. Soil particle pack loosely, forming a soil structure filled 
with voids. The solid phase occupies about half of the volume. The residual void space 
contains water (liquid) and air (gas). The quantity of water that a soil can hold is soil 
water holding capacity. 
 
MATERIALS & METHODS 
 
For the present study of soil analysis, three coastal sites were selected (Sonmiani, 
Gaddani and Kund Malir).  
Site Description: 
Sonmiani: 
Sonmiani Dam coast area is located at latitude of 25°23/ 49.39// N and at longitude of 
66°.34/ 24.32// E. It is 45 km away from Uthal city. Sonmiani is a coastal town in the 
southeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan, approximately 80 kilometers northwest of 
Karachi (Saifullah and Rasool, 2002). The coast of Sonmiani is the northernmost point of 
the Arabian Sea. This area is generally known as muddy shore because there is a huge 
quantity of clay particles that makes the soil muddier in this region (Qureshi et al., 2002). 
The area is rich in biodiversity like mudskippers and mud crabs (Ahmad, 1997). This area 
also contains estuarine region where mangrove plants are also present. 
 
Bano et al.: Soil analysis of Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir 
 
89 
 
Fig. 1. Map showing the sites, Sonmiani, Gadani and KundMalir from where soil samples 
collected. 
 
Gadani: 
Gaddani or Gadani is a small coastal city of Lasbela district located in the southern 
part of Balochistan alongside the Arabian Sea, Pakistan (Biagi et al., 2013). Many 
prehistoric shell-midden sites were discovered along the shores of a small bay, near 
Gaddani. They are characterized of heaps of fragments of marine molluscan shells (Biagi 
et al., 2103). The radiocarbon dating indicates that  they result from the activity of people 
who settled along the coast  during the seventh and the fifth millennia before (Biagi, 
2004). The Gaddani beach is generally known as rocky and sandy beach the muddy shore 
occupies a very small space over there. 
Kund Malir: 
Kund Malir is a desert beach in Balochistan, Pakistan near Hingol, some 145 km 
from Zero-Point on Makran Coastal Highway (Khan et al., 2010). The area is part of 
Hingol National Park which is the largest in Pakistan. Kund Malir beach is most 
commonly recognized as sandy beach (Kassi et al., 2014). In this area, large sand dunes 
are also found and with the course of time they also formed sandy deserts. At one side of 
RCD road the Arabian Sea is located where as at the other side there is only different 
outcrops of diverse rock formations can be seen. There are thus several shrimps and 
lobsters breeding grounds are also found (Qureshi, 2011). 
Data collection: 
Three appropriate stations (A, B and C) were selected at each site for the collection 
of sand samples. At each station, 5 sub-stations were marked (e.g. A1, A2, A3, A4 & A5 
and so on). Each sub-station was 6 meter apart from other. The sampling was done with 
the help of PVC pipe by pushing the pipe into the sand. Following the same procedure 15 
samples were obtained from each site. The sand collected in the pipe was secured in 
plastic bags and brought to the laboratory for analysis. 
 
Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 24(1&2), 2015. 
  
90 
Grain size analysis: 
In the laboratory, each sample was weighed on an electronic balance to obtain the 
wet weight of soil. The soil was found to be 400 grams in weight. After weighing, the 
samples were then oven dried at 60°C for 24 hours. The aggregates of the dried samples 
were separated from each other gently and cooled up on room temperature. The weight of 
dried soil sample was recorded. Grain size was recognized by passing sample through 
sieves of different mesh sizes. The samples were placed in the sieve shaker with different 
sieves and left for 10 minutes at the speed of 100 amplitudes. The sieves were removed 
from the shaker and the retained soil was weighed. The segregated soil when weighed 
together was equivalent to the initial quantity of the soil sample. The percent contribution 
of each category according to the Wentworth scale of sediment. 
 
RESULTS & DISCUSSION 
 
The present investigation of soil analysis on three coasts of Balochistan (Sonmiani, 
Gadani and Kund Malir) (Fig. 1) was performed to determine the proportion of different 
grain sizes contained within the soil. The soil samples from coast of Sonmiani were 
observed to contain the very fine sand in the highest amount (Fig. 2) ranging from 41.5 g 
to 235.1g and that medium sand in the lowest amount ranging from 6.1g and 38.2 g at 
three stations (Fig. 2).  
The soil analysis of Gadani beach demonstrated that the fine sand was present in 
highest quantity ranging from 167.7g to 149.1g at station A, from176.5g to155.8g at 
station B and 193.3g to 175.9g at Station C (Fig. 3).The amount of very fine sand was 
displayed lowest in the samples which ranged between 29.7 g to 20.5g. (Fig. 3). The 
medium sand in the samples varied between 114.9g to 151.1g.  
The coastal samples of Kund Malir contained a vast amount of medium sand in the 
soil and ranged from 145.3g to 84.0g (Fig. 3). The amount of fine sand varied in the 
samples from 137.2 g to 98.9g. The soil of Kund Malir beach had the smallest amount of 
very fine sand with maximum being 86.1g and minimum 50.2g (Fig. 4). The soil samples 
which retained highest moisture content were recorded from 22.54%, 18.57% & 22.50% 
at Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir sites, respectively (Table 1). 
 
Table 1. Highest moisture content % of Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir sites. 
 
Site Moisture content % 
Sonmiani 22.54 
Gadani 18.57 
Kund Malir sites 22.50 
 
The present work is the preliminary report on the sand analysis of three different 
coasts  of  Balochistan.  Sieving  is  a  technique  used  to  grading  or  separation  of  fine  
Bano et al.: Soil analysis of Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir 
 
91 
 
Fig. 2. Graph showing the various compositions of soil particles at Somiani Bay at 
stations A, B and C. The initial raw samples (15) from three field sites were 
average 395.86 gm. 
Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 24(1&2), 2015. 
  
92 
 
Fig. 3. Graph showing the various compositions of soil particles at Gadani beach at 
stations A, B and C. The initial raw samples (15) from three field sites were 
average 390.71 gm. 
Bano et al.: Soil analysis of Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir 
 
93 
 
Fig. 4. Graph showing the various compositions of soil particles at KundMalir beach at 
stations A, B and C. The initial raw samples (15) from three field sites were 
average 380.21 gm. 
Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 24(1&2), 2015. 
  
94 
aggregates/sand into particles of diverse size. (Day, 1965; Gee and Or, 2002). In practice, 
this is done by passing the materials through a set of sieves with openings of different 
diameter. The distribution of different grain sizes affects the engineering properties of 
soil. Grain size analysis provides the grain size distribution and it essential in 
categorizing the soil. 
At Sonmiani the soil composition is fine sand and very fine sand as compared to 
Gadani where the soil is frequently found of fine sandy and at Kund Malir the soil is 
consisted of medium sand and fine sand but very fine sand is also present in large 
amount. 
The Somiani Bay is considered as muddy cum sandy beach (Jahangir et al., 2012) or 
sandy cum muddy beach (Qureshi, 2011) after analysis of soil sample of the coast where 
the amount of sand was greater in samples as compare to silt and clay. In our study, the 
very fine sand is more abundant at Sonmiani beach as compare to fine sand and medium 
sand. 
While the analysis of samples from the Gadani beach it was also found as sandy 
beach (Snead and Frishman, 1968; Hedgpeth, 1957). 
The clay soil has the maximum water holding capacity and the sand in the soil have 
the smallest amount; clay>silt>sand. Clay particles are so minute and have a lot of small 
pore spaces that make water travel slower (the upper most water holding capability) 
(Nimmo, 1997). Sandy soils have high-quality drainage but small water and nutrient 
holding capacities. The results showed that soil samples were collected from three coasts 
mostly have highest fraction of sand and lowest portions of clay, therefore water retention 
in these soil samples are very low Sandy soils have greater particles and big pores. 
Though, big pores do not have a great capability to hold water (Bruand and Tessier, 
2000: Gee and Bauder, 1986). 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
 
The authors are thankful to Vice Chancellor, Lasbela University of Agriculture, 
Water and Marine Science, for his constant support for providing facility. We also 
express thanks to staff of faculty of Marine Science of LUAWMS for their help during 
preparation of this manuscript. 
 
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A preliminary study of soil analysis of Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir coasts of District Lasbela, Balochistan, Pakistan

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A preliminary study of soil analysis of Sonmiani, Gadani and Kund Malir coasts of District Lasbela, Balochistan, Pakistan

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