LOCATION CUTHAND TXEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, carbonatic, thermic Typic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Cuthand loam--pastureland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise
stated.)
Ap-- 0 to 10 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam,
dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate fine subangular
blocky and very fine granular structure; hard, friable; many fine roots; calcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.
(5 to 12 inches thick)
B21--10 to l9 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky and very
fine granular structure; hard, friable; common fine roots and
pores; calcareous, moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.
(4 to l4 inches thick)
B22--19 to 25 inches; pale yellow (5Y 7/3) loam, pale olive
(5Y 6/3) moist; few fine distinct yellow mottles; moderate very
fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; few fine roots
and pores; calcareous, moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to l4 inches thick)
Cca--25 to 45 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) fissile shale,
light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) moist; coarsely mottled with light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4); the shale is bedded and parts into
plates 2 to 5 inches thick and 5 to l8 inches along the horizontal axis; few roots along fractured faces; few soft calcium carbonate coatings on faces of shale fragments and partings; calcareous, moderately alkaline. (l5 to 30 inches thick)
C--45 to 50 inches; light gray (5Y 6/1) shale, gray (5Y 5/1) moist; massive; hard difficult to dig with spade below 50 inches; calcareous, moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Red River County, Texas; in a pasture about 9
miles east-northeast of Clarksville; site is l.5 miles east of Clarksville on U.S. Highway 82; 7 miles east on Farm Road 114 to intersection with Farm Road 1158; 2.9 miles north to county road;
0.6 mile east; site is 30 feet sough of road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to a
paralithic contact are 20 to 40 inches.
The A horizon is gray (10YR 5/1, 6/1), grayish brown (10YR 5/2),
or light brownish gray (10YR 6/2). Moist colors are dark gray
(10YR 4/1), very dark gray (10YR 3/1), very dark grayish brown
(10YR 3/2), or dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2), or dark grayish
brown (10YR 4/2). Where moist values are less than 3.5 the
horizon is less than 6 inches thick. The A horizon is loam or
silt loam. Calcium carbonate equivalent is greater than 25
percent.
The B2 horizons are light brownish gray (10YR 6/2; 2.5Y 6/2),
light gray (10YR 7/2; 2.5Y 7/2; 5Y 7/2), light olive gray (5Y
6/2), pale brown (10YR 6/3), very pale brown (10YR 7/3), light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4), pale yellow (2.5Y 7.4; 5Y 7/3, 7/4),
or pale olive (5Y 6/3, 6/4). Mottles of very dark grayish brown, dark grayish brown, pale brown, very pale brown, grayish brown,
olive yellow, or yellow ranges from none to common faint to
distinct. Gray colors are due to high lime content. The control section is loam or silt loam, and has a noncarebonate clay content
of about 10 to 18 percent and a calcium carbonate equivalent of 40
to 75 percent. The Cca horizon is light brownish gray, light
gray, or light olive brown. It is fractured calcareous shale
with, in some pedons, thin layers of clay loam or loam between
shale plates. Calcium carbonate equivalent is about 45 to 80 percent.
The C horizon is gray or light gray massive shale. Hardness is
about 2 on Moh's scale.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Altoga,
Austin,
Eddy,
Engle,
Ferris,
Gotebo,
Karnes,
Lamar,
Seawillow,
Stephen,
Sumter,
Venus, and
Woodward series. Altoga, Austin,
Ferris, and Stephen soils have over 35 percent total clay in the control section. In addition, Altoga soils lack a paralithic
contact within 40 inches. Eddy soils have a solum less than 20 inches thick. Engle and Venus soils have a mollic epipedon.
Gotebo, Lamar, and Woodward soils have less than 40 percent carbonates in the control section. Lamar soils also have
fine-loamy control sections. Sumter soils have a fine-silty
control section and are dry in the moisture control section for shorter periods of time.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on gently sloping to strongly slop erosional uplands. Slope gradients are dominantly 3 to 8 percent
but range from 2 to 12 percent. The soils formed in materials weathered from stratified, calcareous shale. Climate is warm and humid. Mean annual temperature is 64 degrees F., average annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 45 inches, and Thornthwaite P-E
index ranges from 56 to 76.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing
Austin and
Ferris series, and the
Houston Black series which are clayey
and have a high shrink-swell potential.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; medium internal drainage; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas have been cultivated but are now
in pasture. Native vegetation is grasses such as big and little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass with a few scattered Bois d'arc, hackberry, and eastern red cedar trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly in northeast Texas. The series
is inextensive, comprising about 5,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Red River County, Texas; 1972.
REMARKS: These soils were formerly classified in the Regosol
great soil group. The C horizon is massive, cemented calcareous shale that can be ripped with ordinary power equipment but is very difficult to dig with a spade. Calcium carbonate data by field method:
B21- 64%
B22 - 75%
Cca - 80%
C - 62%