LOCATION GEARY KS+NE

Established Series
Rev. WAW, DJK
07/2020

GEARY SERIES

The Geary series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in loess. Geary soils are on hillslopes on uplands in the Central Kansas Sandstone Hills, MLRA 74. Slopes range from 0 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 760 millimeters (30 inches) and the mean annual temperature is about 13 degrees C (55 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Udic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Geary silt loam in a cultivated field at an elevation of 366 meters (1199 feet). (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 centimeters (0 to 9 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; hard, friable, slightly plastic and slightly sticky; few fine roots; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 33 centimeters (6 to 13 inches) thick)

BA--23 to 38 centimeters (9 to 15 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, slightly plastic and slightly sticky; few fine roots; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches) thick)

Bt1--38 to 58 centimeters (15 to 23 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist and brown (7.5YR 4/4) rubbed, moist; moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, plastic and sticky; few faint clay films on horizontal and vertical faces of ped; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt2--58 to 81 centimeters (23 to 32 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist, and brown (7.5YR 4/4) rubbed, moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, plastic and sticky; few faint clay films on faces of some peds; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 28 to 84 centimeters (11 to 33 inches)).

BC--81 to 107 centimeters (32 to 42 inches); brown (7.5YR 5/4) silty clay loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable, slightly plastic and slightly sticky; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (13 to 31 centimeters (5 to 15 inches) thick)

C--107 to 200 centimeters (42 to 80 inches); reddish brown (5YR 5/3) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, friable, slightly plastic and slightly sticky; few fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Saline County, Kansas; about 14.5 kilometers (9 miles) east and 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) north of Salina Post Office; 73 meters (240 feet) west and 21 meters (70 feet) south of the center, sec. 9, T. 14 S., R. 1 W.; Kipp USGS quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees 50 minutes 55.4 seconds N. and longitude 97 degrees 26 minutes 15.8 seconds W., NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture control section: The soil moisture control section is intermittently moist in some part from March through October; driest in November through February; ustic moisture regime bordering on udic
Mean annual soil temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C (52 to 58 degrees F)

Depth of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 49 centimeters (10 to 20 inches)
Depth to the argillic horizon: 15 to 46 centimeters (6 to 18 inches)
Depth to free carbonates: below 90 centimeters (36 inches)

Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Clay content: 27 to 34 percent
Sand content: 4 to 28 percent (less than 15 percent is fine sand or coarser)

A or Ap horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture: silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 16 to 32 percent
Sand content: 4 to 24 percent
Reaction: moderately acid or slightly acid.

BA horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 33 percent
Sand content: 4 to 24 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam or clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 35 percent
Sand content: 4 to 28 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline.

BC horizon:
Hue: 5YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam, silt loam, loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 24 to 33 percent
Sand content: 4 to 32 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline

C horizon:
Hue: 5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 3 to 6 dry or moist
Texture: silty clay loam, silt loam, loam, or clay loam
Clay content: 20 to 32 percent
Sand content: 4 to 32 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 2 percent
Reaction: ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Avans and Holder series.
Avans soils do not allow textures of silty clay loam in the BA horizon.
Holder soils have hues yellower than 7.5YR in the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loess and/or reworked loess
Landform: hillslopes on uplands
Slopes: 0 to 30 percent
Elevation: 1050 to 2050 feet (320 to 625 meters)
Mean annual air temperature: 10 to 14 degrees C (50 to 57 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation: 680 to 860 millimeters (26 to 34 inches)
Precipitation pattern: Precipitation is usually evenly distributed throughout the year with the exception of November through February being the driest months and May and June being the wettest months. Summer precipitation occurs during intense summer thunderstorms.
Frost-free period: 165 to 200 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Crete, Hedville, Hobbs, and Longford soils.
Crete soils are generally higher in the landscape and are fine textured (have greater than 35 percent clay in the particles size control section).
Hedville soils are generally lower in the landscape and are shallow (less than 20 inches to sandstone.
Hobbs soils are found in associated narrow flood plains and are stratified bedding plains from recent alluvial depositions (fluvents).
Longford soils are generally on higher positions in the landscape and are fine textured (have greater than 35 percent clay in the control section.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: well drained
Runoff: low to high
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: moderately high

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated.
The principal crops are wheat and grain sorghum.
Native vegetation is tall and mid prairie grasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Kansas and east-central Nebraska. Land Resource Region H, Central Great Plains Winter Wheat and Range Region; Major Land Resource Areas 73, 74, 75, 76, 102C, and 106. The Geary series is of large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Manhattan Agricultural Experiment Station field, Riley County, Kansas, by prior correlation, 1940.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: the zone from 0 to 38 centimeters (0 to 15 inches). (Ap and BA horizons).
Argillic horizon: the zone from 38 to 81 centimeters (15 to 32 inches). (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Moisture regime: Ustic
07/2003 WAW Changed to semi-tabular format, update runoff and reaction terminology, added additional data.

10/17/05 JCR Added metric to the description.

08/2012 DJK Added hillslopes for landform in introduction and geographic setting. Changed MAP from 26 inches to 30 inches. Added elevation to typical pedon. Added quad and lat/long to type location. Added depth to argillic and PSCS weighted averages to RIC. Added soil moisture and temperature statement to RIC. Added ranges for BA and BC in RIC. Added clay and sand content for the other horizons. Added CCE for the BC and C horizons. Changed Avans competing series reason. Under geographic setting, added elevation, dropped the upper MAAT from 58 degrees F to 57, changed MAP from 23 to 31 inches to 26 to 33 inches, and added in frost-free period. Removed Hastings and Wells from geographically associated soils. Under Drainage and Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity, changed runoff to include low and changed Ksat from moderately low to moderately high. Added LRR and MLRA to Distribution and Extent. Added KSSL characterization pedons that have been sampled to additional data.

ADDITIONAL DATA: A pedon was sampled in the same general area as the type location, the data is listed under NSSL sample numbers 79P01687-79P01693, pedon 79P0325 (79KS169002). Additional KSSL characterization available for pedons 80NE129001, 81NE059011, 84NE129011, 88KS061137, 89KS061004, 89KS061256, 99KS089011, 00KS027005, 01KS149009, and 06KS027001.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.