LOCATION EPPING NE+CO SD WYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, mesic, shallow Ustic Torriorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Epping silt loam, cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 5 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, friable; many hard chips of siltstone on surface and throughout horizon; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
AC--5 to 10 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; many siltstone chips; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
C--10 to 15 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; many siltstone chips; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Cr--15 to 80 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) soft siltstone bedrock, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; strong effervescence.
TYPE LOCATION: Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska; about 12 miles south of Lyman; 30 feet east and 20 feet north of the southwest corner, sec. 34, T. 21 N., R. 58 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 4 to 14 inches, and depth to carbonates ranges from 0 to 6 inches. The depth to siltstone ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Fragments of siltstone are on the surface and throughout the profile.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 through 7 and 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is typically silt loam and ranges to include silty clay loam, gravelly loam, loam and very fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline.
The AC horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 through 7 and 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. The texture is silt loam, loam or very fine sandy loam. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline. Some pedons lack AC horizons.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 through 8 and 4 through 6 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture and reaction are the same as the AC horizon. The underlying siltstone is calcareous and weakly cemented.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Canyon, Dulce, Eslendo, Fairburn, Gerst, Kinusta, Klondike, Picante, Redarrow, Sandoval, Shingle, Spearfish, Taluce, and Tassel series in the same family. Canyon and Tassel soils formed in residuum weathered from sandstone and in addition, Tassel soils have less than 12 percent clay in the particle size control section. Dulce and Kinusta soils are dry in the soil moisture control section for longer periods during May and June. Eslendo and Picante soils lack glass shards and have yellower hues. Fairburn soils have more than 25 percent clay in the particle size control section. Gerst soils contain more than 15 percent rock fragments throughout the particle size control section. Klondike, Redarrow and Spearfish soils have hue redder than 10YR. Sandoval and Shingle soils contain more clay in the particle size control section. Taluce soils have more sand in the particle size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Epping soils are on uplands, escarpments and foot slopes. Slopes range from 0 to 60 percent. The soil formed in residuum weathered from siltstone which contains material from volcanic ash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 10 to 18 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 53 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Mitchell, Keota, Orella, and Otero soils. Mitchell soils have siltstone below a depth of 40 inches and are on lower landscapes. Keota soils have siltstone at a depth of 20 to 40 inches and are generally lower on the landscape. Orella soils are shallow to claystone, have a clayey control section, and are on lower landscapes. Otero soils are coarse-loamy, deep and generally lower on the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is medium or rapid. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used almost exclusively for range on which native medium and short grasses are dominant. Cultivated areas are normally small areas in fields of deeper soils.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Nebraska, southwestern South Dakota, eastern Wyoming, and northeastern Colorado. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Williston Area, North Dakota, 1906.
REMARKS: The diagnostic horizons or features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 5 inches (Ap horizon).