LOCATION KANORADO KSEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Torrertic Haplustepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Kanorado silty clay loam, on a convex slope of 8 percent in native rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 13 centimeters (0 to 5 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) silty clay loam; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to moderate fine and medium granular; slightly hard, friable; many fine and medium roots; few fine and medium tubular pores; few fine rounded worm casts; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 23 centimeters (3 to 9 inches) thick)
Bk--13 to 28 centimeters (5 to 11 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) silty clay loam; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) moist; moderate medium granular structure; hard, firm; common fine roots between peds; few fine tubular pores; few fine cylindrical carbonate threads; few medium rounded worm casts; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (13 to 25 centimeters (5 to 10 inches) thick)
2Bky1--28 to 64 centimeters (11 to 25 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) and dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; common fine roots between peds; common fine tubular pores; few fine cylindrical carbonate threads; few fine irregular gypsum crystals; few medium rounded worm casts; 1 percent weathered shale fragments; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
2Bky2--64 to 91 centimeters (25 to 36 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) silty clay; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm; common fine roots between peds; common fine and medium tubular pores; common fine and medium irregular masses of carbonate; common fine irregular gypsum crystals; common medium rounded carbonate threads; few medium rounded worm casts; 1 percent weathered shale fragments; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bky is 30 to 91 centimeters (12 to 36 inches) thick)
2Cky--91 to 122 centimeters (36 to 48 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) and light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) silty clay loam; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm; few fine roots throughout; common fine and medium tubular pores; common fine and medium irregular masses of carbonate; common fine and medium carbonate threads; few fine irregular gypsum crystals; 1 percent weathered shale fragments; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches) thick)
2Cr1--122 to 127 centimeters (48 to 50 inches); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) weathered shale; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; weak thin platy structure; few fine roots in cracks; few fine tubular pores; common fine and medium irregular masses of carbonate; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
2Cr2--127 to 152 centimeters (50 to 60 inches); light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2), light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) and olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6) partially weathered shale; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2), light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6); moderate thin platy structure; few fine roots in cracks; common irregular masses of carbonate; few fine irregular gypsum crystals; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Cheyenne County, Kansas, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) north and 6 kilometers (4 miles) west of St. Francis; 335 meters (1100 feet) north and 640 meters (2100 feet) west of the southeast corner of Sec. 2, T. 1 S., R. 41 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 38 to 114 centimeters (15 to 45 inches)
Depth to weathered shale: 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches)
Soft shale fragments above the Cr horizon: 0 to 30 percent
A horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: loam, clay loam, silty clay loam or silty clay
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline
Bk horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam or clay
Reaction: moderately alkaline.
Bw horizon (if present)
Is similar to the Bk horizon color and texture
2Bky horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR
Value: 4 to 7, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam with more than 35 percent clay, or silty clay or clay
Reaction: moderately or strongly alkaline.
2C horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y or 10YR
Value: 5 or 7, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silty clay loam, silty clay or clay
Reaction: moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Denby,
Echeta and
Gojiya series.
Denby soils formed in clayey over silty sediments weathered from sodium rich sedimentary rocks.
Echeta soils do not have a paralithic contact.
Gojiya soils have endosaturation at 127 to 203 centimeters (50 to 80 inches)
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: convex upland and side slopes of breaks adjacent to major drainageways
Parent material: loess over residuum from calcareous shale
Slopes: 0 to 25 percent
Average annual precipitation: 36 to 51 centimeters (14 to 20 inches)
Mean annual temperature: 8 to 12 degrees C. (46 to 54 degrees F.)
Frost free days: 130 to 175 Days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Canyon,
Heldt,
Kim,
Midway,
Stoneham and
Sully soils.
Canyon soils are shallow over weakly cemented limestone.
Heldt, Kim, Stoneham and Sully soils are very deep.
Kim and Stoneham soils have fine-loamy control sections.
Midway soils are shallow over shale.
Sully soils have coarse-silty control sections and are higher on the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: moderately low
Runoff: medium or rapid, depending on the degree of slope
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage of this soil is in native rangeland.
Some areas are in dryland cropland.
Wheat and sorghum are the principal crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Kansas, southwestern Nebraska and Northeastern Colorado. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dundy County, Nebraska, 1995. The name is from a town near the Kansas-Colorado border.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 13 centimeters (0 to 5 inches)
Calcic horizon: 64 to 91 centimeters (25 to 36 inches)
Paralithic contact: 122 centimeters (48 inches)
Particle size class and mineralogy of this soil are questionable, samples have been sent to KSU lab.
The Kanorado soils were previously mapped with the Razor soils which are Aridisols. Razor soils are typically mapped in areas with less than 14 inches of average annual precipitation.
Modified format by LRM in 1/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.