LOCATION CRELDON            MO 
Established Series
Rev. MWA-RLT
05/2006

CRELDON SERIES


The Creldon series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils on uplands that have fragipans at a depth of 18 to 35 inches. These soils formed in a thin mantle of loess, colluvium, and the underlying loamy or clayey cherty residuum weathered from limestone. Permeability is moderately slow above the fragipan and very slow in the fragipan. Slope gradients range from 0 to 9 percent but dominantly are 1 to 3 percent. Mean annual temperature is 57 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 41 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Fragiudalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Creldon silt loam - on a 2 percent convex slope in native prairie grasses at an elevation of 1215 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

A1--0 to 6 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; strong very fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

A2--6 to 10 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; moderate very fine and fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; few fine black weakly cemented manganese concretions; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 7 to 20 inches.)

Bt1--10 to 14 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; few faint clay depletions in pores; common fine black weakly cemented manganese concretions; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt2--14 to 20 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay, moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common fine roots; common fine distinct dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4), dark red (2.5YR 3/6), and few fine faint brown (10YR 4/3) masses of iron accumulation; few fine black weakly cemented manganese concretions; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Bt3--20 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay, moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; many fine prominent red (2.5YR 4/8), dark red (2.5YR 3/6), and common medium faint brown (10YR 4/3) masses; few fine black weakly cemented manganese concretions very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 12 to 24 inches.)

2Btx1--26 to 33 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium platy; very firm; about 70 percent brittle; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2), and few fine faint light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions on prism faces, common medium distinct red (2.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in prism interiors; few fine roots in the gray seams on the prism faces; few distinct clay films on the vertical faces of prisms; few fine black weakly cemented manganese concretions; 10 percent subrounded chert gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

2Btx2--33 to 41 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly silty clay loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure; very firm; about 70 percent brittle; common medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions on prism faces, common medium distinct dark red (2.5YR 3/6) and few fine faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in prism interiors; few distinct clay films in pores and on vertical faces of prisms; few fine black weakly cemented manganese concretions; 40 percent subrounded chert gravel and 20 percent subrounded chert cobbles; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Btx horizon is 6 to 30 inches.)

3Bt1--41 to 53 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) and red (2.5YR 4/8) extremely gravelly silty clay; few fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2), light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; moderate very fine and fine angular blocky structure; very firm; common prominent clay films on faces of peds; 40 percent angular chert gravel and 25 percent chert cobbles; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)

3Bt2--53 to 60 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) very gravelly clay; moderate very fine and fine angular blocky structure; very firm; common prominent clay films on faces of peds; 35 percent angular chert gravel and 15 percent chert cobbles; moderately acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Newton County, Missouri; about 2 1/2 miles south of Granby; 1155 feet north and 100 feet east of the southwest corner, sec. 18, T. 25 N., R. 30 W; USGS Granby quadrangle, lat. 36 degrees 52 minutes 52 seconds N. and long. 94 degrees 15 minutes 51 seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the fragipan is 18 to 35 inches. Thickness of the solum and depth to bedrock are more than 60 inches. Chert gravel and cobble content commonly is from 0 to 5 percent in the A and Bt horizons, but may range to 10 percent just above the fragipan. Chert gravel and cobble content in and below the fragipan ranges from 0 to 75 percent with 0 to 15 percent larger than 3 inches. The mean annual soil temperature at 20 inches is 56 to 59 degrees F.

The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is neutral to very strongly acid.

The E horizon, where present, has value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silt loam.

The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. Some pedons have iron depletions with chroma of 2 or less, with value of 4 or more in the upper 10 inches of the Bt horizon. It is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay. It is slightly acid to very strongly acid.

The 2Btx horizon has mixed colors with hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. Low chroma iron depletions have hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2, and high chroma masses of iron accumulations having hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or their gravelly, very gravelly, extremely gravelly, cobbly, very cobbly or extremely cobbly analogues. It is moderately acid to extremely acid.

The 3Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 4 to 8. It is clay or silty clay or their gravelly, very gravelly, extremely gravelly, or extremely cobbly analogues. Reaction is slightly acid to very strongly acid.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Union series. Union soils do not have a mollic epipedon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Creldon soils are on uplands with slopes ranging from 0 to 9 percent but dominantly 1 to 3 percent. The soil formed in a thin mantle of loess, colluvium, and in the underlying clayey residuum weathered from cherty limestone. Mean annual temperature ranges from 55 to 58 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 39 to 43 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Gerald, Keeno, Eldon, and Hoberg soils. Gerald soils are somewhat poorly drained and are on higher nearly level uplands. Eldon soils do not have a fragipan. Hoberg soils are fine-loamy. Keeno soils are loamy-skeletal. Eldon, Hoberg, and Keeno soils are more sloping and are on on similar positions.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is high or very high. Permeability is moderately slow above the fragipan; very slow in the fragipan; and moderate or moderately rapid below the fragipan. The saturated hydrolic conductivity is moderately high above the fragipan, low in the fragipan, and moderately high below the fragipan. In undisturbed areas, a perched water table has an upper limit of 1.5 to 3 feet during December to April in most years.

USE AND VEGETATION: These areas are cropped to small grain, grass, and legume hay, or pasture crops. A small percentage is cropped to soybeans and grain sorghum. Native vegetation is tall prairie grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Ozark border (MLRA 116B) area of southwest Missouri. The series is of large extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Barton County, Missouri, 1969.

REMARKS: These soils were formerly included in the Craig series.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1) Mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 10 inches (A1 and A2 horizons) (this soil is not a Mollisol because of low base saturation in the argillic horizon)
2) Argillic horizon - the zone from 10 to 60 inches or more (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3, 2Btx1, 2Btx2, 3Bt1, and 3Bt2 horizons)
3) fragipan - the zone from 26 to 41 inches (2Btx1 and 2Btx2 horizons)


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.