LOCATION ELKADER KSEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, mesic Torriorthentic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Elkader silt loam - on a 2 percent slope in native grass. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 5 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; many fine roots; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
A2--5 to 17 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; many fine roots; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons is 7 to 20 inches.)
Bw--17 to 26 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine roots; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
C1--26 to 40 inches; yellow (10YR 7/6) clay loam, brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable; 2 percent limestone fragments; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; diffuse smooth boundary.
C2--40 to 60 inches; yellow (10YR 7/6) clay loam, brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) moist; massive; soft, very friable; few medium sized clusters of gypsum crystals; strongly alkaline; violent effervescence.
TYPE LOCATION: Gove County, Kansas, about 14 miles south and 4 miles east of Gove; 1,850 feet east and 500 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 15, T. 15 S., R. 28 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness ranges from 15 to 32 inches. The mollic epipedon ranges from 7 to 20 inches thick. The calcium carbonate equivalent of the series control section averages 20 to 40 percent. A few fragments of chalky limestone or shale, less than 3 inches across, occur in any horizon but are more common in the C horizon.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is dominantly silt loam, but is silty clay loam in some pedons. Reaction is mildly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 and 3 or 4 moist, and a chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam. Reaction is mildly or moderately alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 6 to 8 and 5 to 7 moist, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam. Reaction is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline. Some pedons have chalky limestone or shale at 40 to 60 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: These are Ancho, Colmor, and Tilford series in the same family and the Armo, Manvel, Minnequa, and Wakeen series. Ancho, Colmor, and Tilford soils have a lower average carbonate content in the control section. In addition, Ancho and Colmor are in a dryer climate and Tilford soils have redder hues. Armo and Wakeen soils are in a wetter climate. In addition, Armo soils are fine-loamy and Wakeen soils have shale bedrock at 20 to 40 inches. Manvel and Minnequa soils lack a mollic epipedon. Also Minnequa soils have shale bedrock at 20 to 40 inches deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Elkader soils are on slightly concave to plane side slopes. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. These soils are formed in calcareous silty sediments from chalky limestone, shale, and loess. The mean annual precipitation is 16 to 21 inches. The mean annual temperature at the type location is about 53 degrees F. Thornthwaites Annual P-E Index ranges from 30 to 34.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Manvel soils and Colby, Keith, Penrose, and Ulysses soils. Manvel soils are in a similar position. Colby, Keith, and Ulysses soils are in areas of thicker loess mantle generally on higher positions. Colby soils lack a mollic epipedon. Ulysses soils lack chalky limestone fragments. Keith soils have argillic horizons. Penrose soils are shallow and occur where the residuum is thin over chalky limestone.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for rangeland. Some of the more gentle slopes are cultivated. Principal crops are wheat and grain sorghum. Native vegetation is dominantly little bluestem, blue grama, big bluestem, and sideoats grama.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Kansas, moderately extensive in a limited area along the Smoky Hill River. Extent is about 65,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Logan County, Kansas, 1962.
REMARKS: The mineralogy of the Elkader series was formally classified as carbonatic but laboratory data shows it is mixed.
ADDITIONAL DATA: National Soil Survey Laboratory Sample Nos. 81P3901-81P3905, unpublished.
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