The paper presents two different approaches for the evaluation of the depth of influence zone. The term influence zone is assigned to the region where the load has substantial influence on the deformation of the soil skeleton. The first approach relies on the analytical solution based on the analysis of Westergard subspace assuming elastic material response. This approach provides extremely efficient estimate of the depth of influence zone. The second approach draws upon the finite element analysis assuming the material response being driven by the modified Cam clay model.