LOCATION LEXSWORTH NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Lexsworth loam with a slopes less than 1 percent in irrigated cropland (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 12 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; moderate medium fine granular structure; hard friable; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
C1--12 to 19 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) sandy clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
C2--19 to 26 inches; coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; few fine distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) redox features; massive; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
C3--26 to 33 inches; coarse sand, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) moist; single grained; violent effervescence; common medium distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) redox features; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary.
C4--33 to 52 inches; stratified coarse sand, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; single grained; common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) redox features; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary.
C5--52 to 60 inches; stratified fine sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) moist; single grained; common medium prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) redox features; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary.
C6--60 to 80 inches; stratified course sand, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; neutral; single grained.
TYPE LOCATION: Deuel County, Nebraska, 1 mile south of Big Springs, Nebraska; 600 feet west and 600 feet south of the northeast corner of section 2, T. 12 N., R. 42 W. USGS Topographic Quadrangle; Big Springs NECO; 41 degrees, 2 minutes, 43 seconds north Latitude; 102 degrees, 4 minutes, 23 seconds west Longitude
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 51 to 53 degrees F
Depth to secondary calcium carbonate: 10 to 20 inches
Depth to endosaturation: 5 to 8 feet
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 10 to 20 inches
Depth to coarse sand or gravelly coarse sand: 20 to 40 inches
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 through 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 through 3 (dry or moist)
Texture: loam and less commonly clay loam
Reaction: neutral through moderately alkaline
Some pedons have an AC horizon
Upper C horizon:
Hue: 10 YR or 2.5Y
Value: 5 through 7 dry and 4 through 6 moist
Chroma: 1 through 3 (dry or moist)
Texture: sandy clay loam, loam, clay loam, coarse sandy loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam, it is commonly stratified with varying colors and textures
Clay content: 8 to 18 percent
Reaction: slightly acid through moderately alkaline
Distinct or prominent redoximorphic features with hue of 2.5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 through 6 moist and chroma of 3 through 8 (dry or moist) are common
Lower C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 through 8 and 5 through 7 moist
Chroma: 2 through 4 (dry or moist)
Texture: coarse sand,fine sand, sand or gravelly coarse sand
Reaction: neutral through moderately alkaline
Percent gravel by volume: 15 to 35 percent
COMPETING SERIES:
Alice: have finer sand throughout the solum, and lack gravel
Busher: formed in weathered sandstone, have sandstone at 40 to 60 inches and are on uplands
Chappell: have lithic contact at depths of 40 to 60 inches
Creighton: have finer sand throughout the solum, and lack gravel
Jayem: have finer sand throughout the solum, and lack gravel
Phiferson: have lithic contact at depths of 40 to 60 inches
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: derived from recent alluvium
Landform: flood plains of large streams
Slopes: 0 to 2 percent
Elevation: 3000 to 4000 feet
Mean annual temperature: 47 to 53 degrees F
Mean annual precipitation: 14 to 18 inches
Frost-free period: 130 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Gothenburg: less than 10 inches thick over the gravelly sand
Platte: at slightly lower elevations and have gravelly sand between depths of 10 and 20 inches
Merrick: deep to fine or coarser sand and are on similar landscapes
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: Moderately well drained
Permeability: moderate in the solum and very rapid in the substratum
The seasonal high water table: 5 to 8 feet, the water table was at 83 inches at the time of sampling, It is highest during winter and spring when stream flow is highest
Flooding: very rare
Runoff: slow
USE AND VEGETATION: This soil is used principally as irrigated cropland. Corn and alfalfa are the most common grown crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Lexsworth series is in western Nebraska and is of small extent. MLRA 72.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES PROPOSED: Deuel County, Nebraska, 1998.
REMARKS:
The diagnostic horizon and other features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: the zone from 10 to 20 inches (Ap, A1, A2)
Redoximorphic concentrations: above 40 inches do not reflect the present water table or drainage of the soil
Down cutting of the river channel and irrigation wells have contributed to the lowering of the ground water table.
This soil was formerly correlated as a Las soil.
ADDITIONAL DATA: National Soil Survey Laboratory data on pedon number: S96NE049-002.