Cryosol, one of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Cryosols are characterized by frozen soil within 1 metre (39 inches) of the land surface and by waterlogging during periods of thaw. They often show disrupted soil layers, cracks, or patterned surface features such as frost mounds, caused by the physical actions of ice formation and melting. Cryosols may be either mineral soils or humus-rich materials. Occupying about 17.7 million square km (6.83 million square miles) in the Arctic regions and in Antarctica, Cryosols are found principally in the wilds of Alaska, Canada, China, and Russia in the Northern Hemisphere. They are associated frequently with Gleysols, Histosols, and Podzols.