LOCATION INKSTER NDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Pachic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Inkster sandy loam - on a convex southeast-facing slope of less than 1 percent in a fallow field. When described, the soil was dry to 4 inches. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; medium acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons is 6 to 20 inches.)
Bw--6 to 18 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) sandy loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak fine and medium prismatic structure parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 20 inches thick)
BC--18 to 24 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) sandy loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) dry; common fine distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) mottles; weak fine and medium prismatic structure parting to weak fine and medium subangular blocky; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky, and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C1--24 to 37 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) sandy loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) dry; common fine faint olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) mottles; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, and slightly plastic; few very fine roots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C2--37 to 60 inches; mottled dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) loamy sand, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) dry; many fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) mottles; single grain; loose, nonsticky, and nonplastic; slight effervescence; mildly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Grand Forks County, North Dakota; about 2 miles south and 1 1/2 miles east of McCanna; 2,540 feet east and 180 feet north of the southwest corner, sec. 15, T. 152 N., R. 55 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mollic epipedon ranges from 16 to 34 inches in thickness but typically is 20 to 26 inches thick. The 10 to 40 inch control section is sandy loam or fine sandy loam. It averages between 12 and 18 percent clay and 40 to 70 percent fine sand and coarser. Thin strata of coarser and finer textures are in the lower part of the control section in some pedons. The sand size fraction is more than 50 percent soft weathered shale that can be broken down by vigorous rubbing between thumb and forefinger when wet.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or neutral; value of 2 and 3 or 4 dry, and chroma of 1 or less and 1 or 2 dry. Typically, it is sandy loam, but the range includes loam. Typically, it is slightly acid, but the range includes medium acid and neutral.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 2 or 3, 4, or 5 dry, and chroma of 1 or 2. Typically, it is sandy loam, but the range includes fine sandy loam. It is slightly acid or medium acid and less commonly neutral. It has weak or moderate prismatic structure that parts to weak or moderate subangular blocky or granular.
The C horizon above a depth of 40 inches has hue of 5Y, 2.5Y, or 10YR, value of 3 to 6 and 6 to 7 dry, and chroma of 1 to 4. Typically, it is sandy loam but the range includes loamy sand or alternating strata of sandy loam, loamy sand, and sand. Typically, it has few to common faint to prominent mottles; but in some pedons, it is free of mottles. Reaction ranges from medium acid to moderately alkaline. Typically, it is slightly acid, neutral, or mildly alkaline. It contains carbonates in some pedons.
The C horizon below 40 inches is typically sandy loam or loamy sand but ranges from gravelly sand to silty clay loam and consists of stratified contrasting textures in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Clontarf, Embden, Emrick, Flathead, Malachy, and Swenoda series in the same family and the Walsh series. The Clontarf, Embden, Emrick, Flathead, Malachy, and Swenoda soils formed in material that contains less than 50 percent shale in the sand size fraction at the 10 to 40 inch control section. Walsh soils are fine-loamy averaging 25 to 35 percent clay.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Inkster soils are on plane, convex, and concave slopes of glacial outwash plains, deltas, and glacial lake beaches. Slope gradients are 0 to 3 percent. Inkster soils formed in moderately coarse-textured deposits in which the sand size fraction consists of more than 50 percent of soft weathered shale. The mean annual temperature ranges from 38 degrees to 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 16 to 22 inches. About three-fourths of the precipitation falls in the spring and summer.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Walsh soils and the Arvilla, Binford, Brantford, Vang, and Walum soils. The Walsh soils are on nearby similar landscapes. The Arvilla, Binford, and Brantford soils are on similar topographic positions but have sand and gravel within 14 to 25 inches of the surface. Vang and Walum soils are on similar topographic positions. Vang soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, and Walum soils have a sandy series control section.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well and moderately well drained. Runoff is very slow to rapid. Permeability is moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Almost all of the Inkster soils are cultivated, and a few are irrigated. Wheat, barley, oats, corn, soybeans, flax, and alfalfa are the principal crops. Native vegetation was prairie sandreed, needleandthread, little bluestem, and blue grama.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Grand Forks County, North Dakota. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grand Forks County, North Dakota, 1980.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 24 inches (Ap, Bw, and BC horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Texture and moisture tension data for S76ND35-14 and S76ND35-15. Care must be taken in sample preparation prior to determining particle size as the sand-sized shale will break down.