LOCATION ARVILLA ND+MN SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Calcic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Arvilla sandy loam on a level east facing slope in a cultivated field. When described the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)
Ap--0 to 5 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak medium and fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
A--5 to 10 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined A horizons 5 to 15 inches thick)
Bw--10 to 16 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 13 inches thick)
2Bk--16 to 31 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly coarse sand, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; about 30 percent gravel; carbonates coat underside of pebbles; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined Bk and 2Bk horizons 0 to 45 inches thick)
2C--31 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly coarse sand, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; about 30 percent gravel; slight effervescence; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Rolette County, North Dakota; about 1/2 mile east and 1/4 mile south of Dunseith; 1,850 feet south and 1,320 feet east of the northwest corner, Sec. 6, T. 161 N., R. 72 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to sand and gravel ranges from 14 to 25 inches. The depth to carbonates ranges from 13 to 25 inches. The mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 20 inches thick. When it is 16 or more inches thick, it has a sandy particle size class in the major part.
The A horizon has 10YR hue, value of 3 or 4 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1. It is sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loam or fine sandy loam. It has 0 to 10 percent rock fragments. It is slightly acid to moderately alkaline. Some pedons have an AB or BA horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5 and 2 to 5 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loam or fine sandy loam. It is loamy sand in the lower part of some pedons. It has 0 to 10 percent rock fragments. It is slightly acid to moderately alkaline. Some pedons have a gravelly loamy sand or gravelly loamy coarse sand 2Bw horizon. Some pedons have a coarse sand 2BC horizon.
The Bk, where present, and the 2Bk horizons have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5 and 5 to 7 dry, and chroma of 1 to 4. The Bk horizon is loamy sand, sand, sandy loam or coarse sandy loam. The 2Bk horizon is sand, coarse sand, gravelly coarse sand, gravelly sand or very gravelly coarse sand. It has more than 5 percent gravel, but commonly averages 20 to 35 percent gravel. The 2Bk horizon is expressed as the presence of carbonate accumulations on the underside of pebbles. The Bk and 2Bk horizons are slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
The 2C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6 and 3 to 7 dry, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is sand, coarse sand, loamy sand or loamy coarse sand, or their gravelly analogues. It has more than 5 percent gravel, but commonly averages 20 to 35 percent gravel. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Binford and Sverdrup series in the same family and the Lohnes, Maddock and Sioux series. Binford soils have sand and gravel 2C horizons that have more than 20 percent shale in the 0.1 to 76 mm fraction. Sverdrup soils contain less than 5 percent rock fragments and do not have coarse sand and gravel 2C horizons. Lohnes soils have loamy coarse sand or coarse sand in the series control section. Maddock soils are dominated by fine sand and have less than 2 percent rock fragments. Sioux soils do not have a cambic horizon and have sand and gravel within depths of 14 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Arvilla soils are on level to moderately steep outwash plains, beach areas of glacial lakes, and terraces of glacial stream valleys. Slope gradients are commonly 1 to 5 percent, but range from 0 to 25 percent. The soils formed in a thin mantle of sandy loam alluvium underlain by thick beds of loose sand and gravel. The climate is cool, subhumid with a mean annual air temperature ranging from 36 to 48 degrees F, and a mean annual precipitation ranging from 15 to 24 inches. Three-fourths of the rainfall is in the spring and summer.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Maddock and Sioux soils and the Divide, Fordville, Osakis, Renshaw and Wyrene soils. Divide and Wyrene soils have a calcic horizon within a depth of 16 inches. Osakis soils have mottling within depths of 40 inches. The Divide, Osakis and Wyrene soils are on lower level and slight concave depressions in the outwash plains. Sioux soils are on the steeper hills and ridges. Fordville and Renshaw soils have more than 18 percent clay in the upper part. In addition Fordville soils are pachic.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained. Runoff is slow to rapid. Permeability is moderately rapid in the upper part and rapid or very rapid in the underlying material.
USE AND VEGETATION: Largely cultivated to small grains, some corn, hay, and pasture. Native vegetation is mixed medium, short, and tall prairie grasses as needleandthread, prairie sandreed and sedges.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern and northern North Dakota, northeastern South Dakota, and western Minnesota. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Richland County, North Dakota, 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 10 inches (Ap and A horizons); cambic horizon - the zone from 10 to 16 inches (Bw horizon).