LOCATION GETTYS SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, calcareous, mesic Vertic Ustorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Gettys clay loam - in native grass. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) crushing to very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; weak very fine granular structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; mildly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
Bw--3 to 10 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium and fine subangular blocky; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bk--10 to 22 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; common fine faint mottles of light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine dark gray (5Y 4/1) fragments of shale; common medium and coarse accumulations of carbonate; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 22 inches thick)
Cy--22 to 38 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) clay loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) moist; common fine distinct mottles of yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) moist; massive; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common fine dark gray (5Y 4/1) fragments of shale; common fine striations and nests of gypsum; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
C--38 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) and gray (5Y 5/1) clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and dark gray (5Y 4/1) moist; common medium distinct mottles and stains of yellowish red (5YR 5/6) moist; massive; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and fine gray (5Y 5/1) fragments of shale; few fine striations and nests of gypsum; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Sully County, South Dakota; about 17 miles west and 4 miles south of Onida; 650 feet east and 338 feet south of the northwest corner, sec. 36, T. 114 N., R. 80 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum ranges from 2 to 10 inches. Free carbonates are at or within a few inches of the surface. The series control section averages between 35 and 50 percent clay and more than 15 percent fine or coarser sand. Few or common glacial stones and boulders are on the surface or partially embedded in most areas. Few or common pebbles and cobbles are mixed throughout the profile in most pedons. Mottles are inherent in the parent material and range from few to many, faint to prominent.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5 and 2 to 4 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6 and 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
The Bk and C horizons have hue of 5Y or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3. They are clay loam or clay. The C horizon contains thin strata of coarser textures in the lower part in some pedons. The Bk horizon contains common or many, fine to coarse accumulations of carbonate in most pedons. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Few to many, fine or medium striations or nests of gypsum are in most pedons. Bedded shale is between depths of 40 and 60 inches in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Gettys soils are undulating to steep on uplands in rolling to hilly glacial moraines and side slopes of drainageways. Surfaces are convex and slope gradients typically are greater than 15 percent, but range from 6 to 45 percent. The Gettys soils formed in firm clay loam glacial till. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 17 to 24 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Betts, Oko, Peno, Raber, and Sansarc soils. Betts soils are on similar landscapes and are fine-loamy. Oko, Peno, and Raber soils are on the smoother parts of the landscape and have argillic horizons. Sansarc soils are in the lower parts of some of the steeper landscapes and have bedded shale at depths of less than 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is rapid. Permeability is moderately slow or slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used almost exclusively for native range. Principal native species are little bluestem, sideoats grama, western wheatgrass, blue grama, and needleandthread.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and east-central South Dakota, east of the Missouri River. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hughes County, South Dakota, 1970.
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 3 inches (A horizon).