where do the minerals (inorganic materials) that form soil come from
Soil interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere. The term pedolith, used commonly to refer to the soil, literally translates ground stone. Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three-state system of solids, liquids, and gases.