LOCATION BANKS ND+MT SD WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Typic Ustifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Banks very fine sandy loam - native grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 4 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many roots; slight effervescence; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 12 inches thick)
C1--4 to 30 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) fine sand, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; single grain; loose; few roots; slight effervescence; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 40 inches thick)
C2--30 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; single grain; loose; some very thin (1/8 to 1/2 inch) bands of silt and very fine sand; slight effervescence; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Burleigh County, North Dakota; 2,165 feet east and 1,585 feet south of the northwest corner, sec. 5, T. 140 N., R. 81 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to carbonates is less than 10 inches. The 10- to 40- inch control section is mainly strata of loamy fine sand, fine sand or sand. One or more very thin layers of very fine sand, loam or finer materials are in most pedons; others contain thin layers of coarse sand and gravel. Some pedons have thin Ab horizons.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3. Values of 2 or 3 moist are allowed if it is 3 inches or less in thickness or if it is 5 inches or less in thickness and has textures of loamy fine sand or coarser. Textures range from sand to silty clay. It is neutral or slightly alkaline. Some pedons have AC horizons.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is loamy fine sand, fine sand or sand. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Banks soils are on level to gently sloping levees, flood plains and low terraces of larger streams. Slopes are 0 to 6 percent. Most areas have microtopographic small ridges, hummocks and hollows created by action of wind or floodwaters. The soils formed in recently deposited sandy alluvium. Mean annual temperature is 39 to 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 13 to 18 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Havrelon, Lallie, Lohler and Trembles soils. These soils commonly are on the more level floodplains farther from the stream channels. Havrelon soils are fine-loamy and Lallie and Lohler soils are fine. Trembles soils are coarse-loamy. In some areas, the land type, riverwash, is between the Banks soils and the stream channel.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively or somewhat excessively drained. Slow or very slow runoff. Rapid permeability. The Banks soils are flooded nearly every time streams overflow, but they are under water only a short time.
USE AND VEGETATION: Native range and pasture are the main uses. Some is cropped to forage crops, small grains and corn. Cottonwoods, willows, sagebrush and other shrubs are widely spaced. Native grass vegetation is prairie sandreed, needleandthread and blue grama.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western North Dakota, northwestern South Dakota and northeastern Montana. They are of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McKenzie County, North Dakota, 1932.
REMARKS: Revised 3/94.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 4 inches (A horizon); irregular decrease in organic carbon with depth (strata in 30 to 60 inches layer (C2 horizon).