Origins and distribution of tropical residual soils • Tropical weathering • Duricrusts • Saprolite • Pedogenic factors and characteristics of residual soil types • Factors influencing depth of residual soil mantles • Profile features of engineering significance • Lateral variability of tropical residual soils Soil classification • Objective • Background • Genetic classification • Classification for engineering purposes Field descriptions and identification • General site characteristics • Soil material characteristics • Soil mass characteristics • Data collection Testing and sampling tropical residual soils • Test for classification of soils • Compaction related tests • Strength and sensitivity • Expansive clays • Collapsing soils • Dispersive and Erodible soils • Chemical tests • Soil mineralogy and microstructure • Drilling and sampling • In situ tests Guidelines to engineering properties and characteristics • Residual soils in situ • Partial saturation • Residual soils as fills • Practical difficulties in working with residual soils • Residual soils in road pavements • Duricrusts as sources of aggregates • Appendix: Field description and practical application • Audience: engineering geologists, geologists, civil engineers, pedologists and geomorphologists