Reading a borehole log in five minutes

A borehole log looks dense, but it is read from left to right, one layer at a time (sample note).

The depth column says where each layer starts and ends, in metres below the ground. The hatched column draws the layer: dots for sand, dashes for clay, crosshatch for made ground. The description is what the logger saw and smelled as it came up.

Then look for two things: the samples sent to the lab, and the small triangles in the water column. A hollow triangle is where water was struck; a filled one is where it settled. Those two lines decide most of the next steps.