Dried mud with wind-blown stones

Some people believe mud contains cosmetic or healing properties, such as this man at the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between

Mud is a liquid or semi-liquid mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Silt is Soil or rock derived Granular material of a Grain size between sand and clay Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form siltstone or solid, mudrock lutites. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Siltstone is a Sedimentary rock which has a composition intermediate in grain size between the coarser Sandstones and the finer Mudstones and When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are termed bay muds. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft unconsolidated Silty Clay, which is saturated with Water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of Mud is closely related to slurry and sediment. Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of

Mud, in the construction industry, refers to wet plaster, stucco, cement or other similar substances. In the fields of Architecture and Civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the Building or assembling of Infrastructure The term plaster can refer to plaster of Paris Lime plaster, or Cement plaster. Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water In the most general sense of the word a cement is a binder a substance which sets and hardens independently and can bind other materials together

In ceramics, the making of liquid mud (called slip) is a stage in the process of refinement of the materials, since larger particles will settle out of the liquid. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos)

Mud is similar to muck, but lacking significant quantities of humus, and often containing higher proportions of sand. Muck is a Soil made up primarily of Humus from drained Swampland It is known as black soil in The Fens of eastern England, where it Humus (Origin 1790–1800 Latin: earth ground) is the organic material in Soil lending it a dark brown or black colouration Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles

As habitat

Mud can provide a home for numerous types of animals, including varieties of worms, frogs, snails, clams, and crayfish. A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long soft body and no legs This article is about the block cipher algorithm For the ultrafast laser pulse measurement technique see Frequency-resolved optical gating. The word snail is a Common name that can be used for almost all members of the Molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the Clam is a word which can be used for all some or only a few Species of Bivalve Mollusks the word is a Common name which has Crayfish, crawfish, crawdads, or crodgers are freshwater Crustaceans resembling small Lobsters to which they are closely Other animals, such as pigs and elephants bathe in mud in order to cool off and protect themselves from the sun. Pigs, also called hogs or' swine', are Ungulates which have been domesticated as sources of food leather and similar products since ancient times Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Humans have also used mud as a building material, or a sealant material.

Problems

A lorry stuck in mud

Clay soil can pose problems for traffic when moisture is present. A road built upon such soil may become stable over time as the packing of the soil will make it more water-resistant. However, any attempt to grade it can be disastrous, since excess water can then enter the surface and will be worked in by traffic, transforming portions of the road into a mud bog that can trap vehicles. The typical solution in road building is to add layers of crushed stone. The stone particles will interlock and distribute the weight of a vehicle over a larger surface area. Proper drainage is also essential when low spots are encountered by the road, usually requiring the addition of culverts to pass water underneath the elevation of the road.

Buildings constructed upon clay soil must also be properly drained around their perimeter, particularly where a perimeter foundation (rather than a monolithic slab) is used. A foundation is a Structure that transfers loads to the earth As clay will expand and soften when moisture is added, the resultant mud will squeeze out from underneath the foundation, however, in the next dry cycle it will contract, but the clay squeezed out will not return. Over a number of such cycles the foundation can sink in the moisture-cycled locations, possibly causing both wall and foundation cracks. Maintaining a constant moisture level in firm soil is important and can be effected by appropriate landscaping and landscaping maintenance. Where drainage is toward a building a French drain may be installed to route water around the building. A French drain, drain tile, or land drain is a Ditch filled with Gravel or rock that Redirects surface and Ground

In pop culture

Mud is used in mud wrestling, as a form of entertainment. Mud wrestling is classically defined as physical confrontation ( Fighting, Wrestling, etc A mud bath is an alternative-medicine treatment. A mud bath is a bath of mud commonly from areas where hot spring water can combine with volcanic ash It can also be used in a Dunk Tank. A dunk tank, also known as a dunking booth or dunking machine is an attraction mainly used in Funfairs fundraisers, and personal parties.

See also

• Muck (soil)
• Mudcrete
• Mud volcano
• Peloid
• Drilling mud