LOCATION ENNING SD+NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, carbonatic, mesic, shallow Aridic Ustorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Enning silty clay loam - on north-facing slopes of 10 percent in native grass. When described, the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)
A--0 to 5 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; many fine and medium roots; strong effervescence (32 percent calcium carbonate); neutral; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
C--5 to 14 inches; white (2.5Y 8/2) and pale yellow (2.5Y 8/4) silty clay loam; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) and light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable; common fine roots; 20 percent by volume of shale fragments; violent effervescence (72 percent CaCO3); slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)
Cr--14 to 40 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 8/4) chalky shale, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) moist; bedding planes evident; common yellow (10YR 7/6) stains along cracks and bedding planes; few fine roots in upper 10 inches; violent effervescence (80 percent calcium carbonate), slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Meade County, South Dakota; about 9 miles east and 2 miles north of Tilford; 1700 feet south and 650 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 11, T. 4 N., R. 7 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to weathered soft chalky shale and limestone is 10 to 20 inches. Carbonates typically are at the surface, but some pedons are leached 1 or 2 inches. The particle-size control section averages between 18 and 35 percent clay and typically less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser. Shale fragments range from 0 to 50 percent by volume.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. Reaction is neutral 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 2 to 4. It is silty clay loam or silt loam. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 40 to 80 percent. Some pedons have AC horizons.
The Cr horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 7 or 8 and 5 or 6 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. Typically, it has stains or mottles with value of 4 to 7 and 5 or 6 moist, and chroma of 4 to 6 along cracks and bedding planes. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 40 to 85 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Enning soils are on gently sloping to steep, ridges and side slopes on dissected uplands. Slope gradients, typically, are greater than 9 percent but range from 2 to 40 percent. These soils formed in silty residuum weathered from soft chalky shales and limestone. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 43 to 48 degrees F, and precipitation ranges from 12 to 18 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Manvel, Midway, and Minnequa soils. Manvela nd Minnequa soils do not have bedrock within depths of 20 inches and are lower on the landscape. The Midway soils contain more than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section and are on similar landscapes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well or somewhat excessively drained. Runoff is low to high depending on slope. Permeability is moderate above the bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used primarily as range. The native vegetation dominantly is little bluestem, blue grama, needleandthread, sideoats grama, sedges, and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western South Dakota near Black Hills and northwest Nebraska. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Meade County, South Dakota, 1974.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 5 inches (A horizon).