LOCATION JANESBURG               ND

Established Series
PMW-CJH
01/2023

JANESBURG SERIES


The Janesburg series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils formed in residuum weathered from alkaline, soft shale, siltstone and mudstone. These soils have slow or very slow permeability. They are on upland plains and have slopes of 0 to 25 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 42 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is about 15 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Typic Natrustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Janesburg silty clay loam - on a nearly level upland plain with a slope of about 2 percent in native grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated)

A--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine pores; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)

E--8 to 10 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium platy; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; many fine and very fine roots; many fine pores; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

Btn1--10 to 16 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; strong medium columnar structure parting to strong fine angular blocky; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine and very fine roots between peds; common fine pores; many faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; column tops coated with light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) E material; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.

Btn2--16 to 21 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silty clay, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; very hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; common fine pores; few faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay films on faces of peds; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined Btn horizons 4 to 21 inches thick)

BCk--21 to 26 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) silt loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; few medium irregular masses of carbonates; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

Cr--26 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) and olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6) soft siltstone bedrock, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) moist; common irregular masses of carbonates between siltstone stratifications; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Morton County, North Dakota; about 6 miles south and 5 miles west of Almont; 2,050 feet south and 50 feet east of the northwest corner, sec. 36, T. 137 N., R. 87 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to soft bedrock is 20 to 40 inches. Depth to visible salt or gypsum accumulation is more than 16 inches.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, silt loam, loam or fine sandy loam. It is medium acid to neutral.

The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6 and 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is silt loam, loam or fine sandy loam. It is medium acid to neutral. In some cultivated pedons the E horizon has been mixed with the Ap horizon.

The Btn horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6 and 3 to 5 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It typically is silty clay, clay, silty clay loam or clay loam, but some is sandy clay containing 35 to 50 percent clay. It has strong columnar structure in the upper part grading to moderate or strong prismatic and blocky in the lower part. The B horizon ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline in the upper part and slightly to strongly alkaline in the lower part. The exchangeable sodium exceeds 15 percent or the sodium plus magnesium exceeds calcium plus hydrogen. Some pedons have salt or gypsum accumulation in the lower part of the B horizon. Some pedons have Btkn, Bk, Bz or By horizons.

The BCk horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam or silty clay. It is moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

The Cr horizon is alkaline, soft shale, siltstone or mudstone. Some pedons have a C horizon above the Cr horizon. It has gypsum accumulations in some pedons.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Noonan series. Noonan soils do not have soft bedrock within a depth of 40 inches.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Janesburg soils are on level to moderately steep upland plains. Slope gradients commonly are 1 to 15 percent but range from 0 to 25 percent. The soils formed in residuum weathered from alkaline, soft shale, siltstone or mudstone. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 39 to 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 13 to 17 inches. Most of the precipitation comes in the spring and summer.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Belfield, Cabba, Daglum, Dogtooth, Grail, Lawther, Moreau, Morton, Reeder, Regent, Rhoades, Wyola, Sen and Shambo soils. Belfield, Daglum and Rhoades soils are on nearby foot slopes, swales and terraces. These soils do not have soft bedrock within a depth of 40 inches. In addition, Belfield soils have interfingering of an E horizon into the Btn horizon and do not have strong columnar structure. Dogtooth soils are on similar positions as Janesburg soils. They have thinner sola and have salts within 16 inches. None of the other soils have natric horizons. In addition, Cabba soils have soft bedrock within depths of 20 inches. They are on nearby knobs and ridges. The other soils are on nearby terraces and uplands.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow to very rapid, depending upon slope. Permeability is slow or very slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for range, pasture, and small grains. Native vegetation is western wheatgrass, blue grama, green needlegrass, sedges, and forbs.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western North Dakota and possibly adjacent areas of northwestern South Dakota and eastern Montana. The soil is extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Salina, Kansas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sioux County, North Dakota, 1992.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 8 inches (A horizon); natric horizon - the zone from 10 to 21 inches (Btn1 and Btn2 horizons).

Mapped in Hettinger and Grant Counties, North Dakota as Daglum soils, moderately deep. Included with Daglum or other series in older surveys in North Dakota and South Dakota.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.