LOCATION KUBE SDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Aridic Argiustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Kube silt loam - on a plane slope of less than 2 percent in a cultivated field. When described the soil was moist to 40 inches. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
BA--6 to 10 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium and fine subangular blocky and granular; hard, friable, slightly sticky; neutral; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bt--10 to 17 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) crushing to dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine and medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium subangular blocky; very hard, friable, slightly sticky; common tongues (1 inch or less in width) of gray (10YR 5/1) and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) moist; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
BC--17 to 26 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, friable, slightly sticky; 5 percent or less by volume fragments of soft siltstone; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
BCk--26 to 41 inches; pink (7.5YR 8/4) silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very friable, slightly sticky; about 30 percent by volume very fine fragments of soft siltstone; few fine accumulations of carbonate; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (15 to 20 inches thick)
Cr--41 to 60 inches; white (7.5YR 8/1) and pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) siltstone which crumbles readily upon wetting; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Mellette County, South Dakota; about 2 1/2 miles south of Norris; 900 feet east and 150 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 23, T. 40 N. , R. 33 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock ranges from 40 to 60 inches or more. Depth to carbonate ranges from 16 to 30 inches. Fragments of soft siltstone are within a depth of 36 inches and range from 10 to 35 percent by volume in horizon immediately above the siltstone (Cr horizon). The thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 8 to 16 inches and extends into the Bt horizon of some pedons. CEC/clay ratios range from 90me/100 grams to 200 me/100 grams in the solum with the highest ratios in the BCk horizon.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and is slightly acid or neutral.
The BA horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and 3 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or silty clay loam and is slightly acid or neutral.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 1 to 4. It typically is silty clay loam or silty clay averaging between 35 and 45 percent clay and less than 15 percent fine or coarser sand. It has few or common tongues, less than 1 inch in width, of A material extending into the Bt horizon. It is neutral or slightly alkaline.
The BC horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 to 8 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam, loam, or silty clay loam. It is neutral to moderately alkaline. It has few to common accumulations of carbonate in the lower part. Some pedons have a Bk or C horizon.
The Cr horizon is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ashfork, Blackpipe, Boneek, Boquillas, Chapin, Collbran, Emigrant, Huggins, Leyden, Loma, Nunn, Querc, Rednun, Richfield, Ryus, Savo, Showlow, Sofia, Standley, Thunderbird, Torreon, and Wormser soils in the same family. Ashfork, Blackpipe, Boquillas, Chapin, Emigrant, Huggins, Leyden, Querc, Thunderbird, and Wormser soils have bedrock between depths of 20 and 40 inches. In addition, Chapin and Boquillas soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the argillic horizon, and Emigrant, Querc, Thunderbird, and Wormser soils contain more sand coarser than very fine sand. Boneek, Collbran, Loma, and Rednun soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the upper part of the argillic horizon. In addition, Loma soils have carbonate throughout and Rednun soils have more sand coarser than very fine sand. Nunn soils have more fine or coarser sand. Richfield and Ryus soils have carbonate at or near the surface. Savo soils have lower CEC/clay ratios. Showlow and Standley soils have more coarse fragments. Sofia soils have more clay. Torreon soils have thicker sola and formed in sediments influenced by basalt.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kube soils formed in silty residuum weathered from soft siltstone on uplands. Slope gradient ranges from 0 to 6 percent. The mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 48 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation from 12 to 18 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Huggins soils and the Duroc, Kadoka, Wanblee, and Wortman soils. Duroc soils have a mollic epipedon thicker than 20 inches. They are in swales and on colluvial fans. Huggins and Kadoka soils are on similar nearby landscapes. Kadoka soils are fine-silty. Wanblee and Wortman soils have a natric horizon. They are on flats and low footslopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is low on nearly level areas and medium on moderately sloping areas. Permeability is moderate or moderately slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly cropped to winter wheat, oats, grain sorghum, alfalfa, and cool season grasses. Native vegetation is western wheatgrass, blue grama, green needlegrass, needleandthread, sedges, and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern South Dakota. The series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mellette County, South Dakota, February 16, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 10 inches (Ap & BA horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from a depth of about 10 to 17 inches (Bt horizon).