Ground failure in Adapazari, Turkey during the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake was severe. Hundreds of structures settled, slid, tilted, and collapsed due in part to liquefaction and ground softening. Ground failure was more severe adjacent to and under buildings. The soils that led to severe building damage were generally low plasticity silts. In this paper, the results of a comprehensive investigation of the soils of Adapazari, which included cone penetration test ͑CPT͒ profiles followed by borings with standard penetration tests ͑SPTs͒ and soil index tests, are presented. The effects of subsurface conditions on the occurrence of ground failure and its resulting effect on building performance are explored through representative case histories. CPT-and SPT-based liquefaction triggering procedures adequately identified soils that liquefied if the clay-size criterion of the Chinese criteria was disregarded. The CPT was able to identify thin seams of loose liquefiable silt, and the SPT ͑with retrieved samples͒ allowed for reliable evaluation of the liquefaction susceptibility of fine-grained soils. A well-documented database of in situ and index testing is now available for incorporating in future CPT-and SPT-based liquefaction triggering correlations.

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Ground failures in the form of liquefaction, loss of bearing capacity and soil softening have been observed during the 1999 Marmara (Turkey) earthquake. Research to understand the failure phenomena has been carried out since the earthquakes. This paper attempts to provide explanations to the liquefaction failure of silts in seismic conditions. Findings from a large amount of data collected in the city of Adapazari on the physical and mechanical properties of soils is presented. A geomorphological map of the city has shown that there are surprising horizontal and vertical variations of the facies due to the activity of rivers in the past. Cases of liquefaction appear to have concentrated in former backswamp areas where silts and sandy silts were deposited by crevasse splays. Properties of the soils in zones of liquefaction and non-liquefaction have been determined down to a reasonable depth by measuring the average size, clay content and liquidity index as well as cone penetration resistances with porewater pressures to discover that there is significant discrepancy among those profiles susceptible to liquefaction and non-liquefying deposits. A set of "Adapazari Criteria" is proposed which is intended to improve over the "Chinese Criteria" and is simple enough to be universally applicable. This classification is similar to the existing criteria but emphasizes more on the clay content in addition to measuring the liquid limit and the liquidity index as well as the average size.

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