Editing Geotechnical engineering (section)

{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}
{{short description|Scientific study of earth materials in engineering problems}}[[Image:Boston CAT Project-construction view from air.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Boston]]'s [[Big Dig]] presented geotechnical challenges in an urban environment.]]
[[File:Precastconcreteretainingwall.tif|thumb|Precast concrete retaining wall]]
[[File:slope 2d plain.svg|thumb|A typical cross-section of a slope used in two-dimensional analyzes.]]

'''Geotechnical engineering''', also known as '''geotechnics''', is the branch of [[civil engineering]] concerned with the engineering behavior of [[earth materials]]. It uses the principles of [[soil mechanics]] and [[rock mechanics]] to solve its [[engineering]] problems. It also relies on knowledge of [[geology]], [[hydrology]], [[geophysics]], and other related sciences. 

Geotechnical engineering has applications in [[military engineering]], [[mining engineering]], [[petroleum engineering]], [[coastal engineering]], and [[offshore construction]]. The fields of geotechnical engineering and [[engineering geology]] have overlapping knowledge areas. However, while geotechnical engineering is a specialty of [[civil engineering]], engineering geology is a specialty of [[geology]].