LOCATION CRAFT NE+SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic Aridic Ustifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Craft very fine sandy loam, with a slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--6 to 14 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; slightly hard, friable; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined A horizons 4 to 20 inches thick)
C1--14 to 21 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.
C2--21 to 29 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; violent effervescence; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C3--29 to 36 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C4--36 to 40 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) silty clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C5--40 to 60 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Morrill County, Nebraska; about 5 miles south and 1 mile west of Bridgeport; 250 feet east and 150 feet south of the northwest corner, sec. 32, T. 19 N., R. 50 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates: generally at the surface, but can be as deep as 10 inches
Particle-size control section: very fine sand and fine sand fractions may contain up to 50 percent of volcanic glass
Notes: Some pedons have AC horizons that are intermediate in color and texture between the A and C horizon. Some pedons have Ab horizons at depths below 24 inches.
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 and 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: very fine sandy loam, loam or loamy very fine sand
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Notes: Those pedons that have moist values of 3 are less than 7 inches thick or are stratified within a depth of 10 inches.
C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 6 to 8 and 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: very fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam, but can also include strata of loamy very fine sand, fine sandy loam, silty clay loam and thin lenses of silty clay; commonly stratified below a depth of 40 inches with textures ranging from very fine sandy loam to gravelly sand
Calcium carbonate content in the particle-size control section: 5 to 15 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline; some pedons with thin strata that are strongly alkaline are within the range of the series.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: river valleys
Landform: floodplains
Slopes: 0 to 3 percent
Parent material: calcareous, stratified, alluvial sediments
Mean annual precipitation: 14 to 18 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 45 to 53 degrees F.
Elevation: 3000 to 5000 feet above sea level
Frost-free period: 110 to 140 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Benkelman: are not stratified, on terraces
Bridget: have a mollic epipedon and are not stratified in the solum, on foot slopes at higher elevations.
Gering: are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal and are wet for longer periods in the lower part of the series control section, on similar landscapes
McCook: have a mollic epipedon and are not stratified in the solum, on similar landscapes
McGrew: are coarse-loamy, have mixed sand and gravel between a depth of 20 and 40 inches, and are also wet for longer periods in the lower part of the series control section, on similar landscapes
Mitchell: are not stratified, on foot slopes, alluvial fans and lower valley side slopes
Sulco: are not stratified, on drainageway backslopes
Yockey: are wet for longer periods in the lower part of the series control section, on similar landscapes
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: well
Runoff: slow
Permeability: moderate
Flooding: rare to common for brief periods following heavy local rainfall.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the areas of Craft soils are cultivated and much of the acreage is irrigated. A small acreage is in native grass. The main irrigated crops are corn, alfalfa, sugar beets and dry edible beans. A small acreage of winter wheat is grown. The dominant species of native grasses are blue grama, needleandthread and western wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nebraska and Western South Dakota. Possibly eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Box Butte County, Nebraska, July 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon: ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 6 inches (Ap horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA: National Soil Survey Laboratory data is available for pedon S76NE123-22.
The Craft soils were previously included with Haverson soils, which are classified in the fine-loamy family.