LOCATION MONTIETH IAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Psammentic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Montieth loamy sand with a west-facing convex slope of 15 percent gradient - pastured wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 7 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy sand, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common pebbles; few flagstones; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
E--7 to 12 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; streaks of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); common pebbles; few flagstones; medium acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bt--12 to 17 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; thin discontinuous dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) clay films; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
E/B--17 to 30 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and light gray (10YR 7/2) sand (E); single grained; loose; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) loamy sand (B); weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; thin discontinuous reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 16 inches thick)
BC--30 to 34 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) sand; single grained; some horizontal cleavage; very friable; very thin bands of light gray (10YR 7/2); discontinuous weak cementation; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
Cr--34 to 60 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) with thin bands of reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) weakly cemented sandstone; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Guthrie County, Iowa; about 3 miles south of Guthrie Center; 340 feet north and 960 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 19, T. 79 N., R. 31 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 24 to 40 inches. The solum is terminated by moderately to weakly cemented sandstone, which constitutes a paralithic contact. Thin, hard, small flaggy or channery fragments of siltstone or ferruginous plates are present in the solum of some pedons. About 30 to 60 percent of the sand in the solum is medium in size, about 20 to 40 percent is fine, and less than 10 percent is coarse or very fine. The solum typically is strongly acid or very strongly acid, but the A horizon is quite variable in reaction.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It typically is loamy sand or sand but is sandy loam in some pedons.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 through 4 and is sandy loam, loamy sand, or sand.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 or 6. It is sandy loam or loamy sand.
The E/B horizon has 10YR hue, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 8 (E part) with bands that have hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 8 (B part). These bands are less than 7 inches thick and most are 1 to 4 inches thick. The total thickness of thin noncontinuous bands above the cemented sandstone is more than 6 inches. The bands are loamy sand or sandy loam, have clay content of 7 to 15 percent, and have 75 percent or more sand. There are clay films or clay bridging in the bands. There is 3 to 10 percent more clay in the Bt horizon than in the adjacent E or E/B horizons.
Some pedons have a C horizon that has 10YR hue, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 6. It is sand or loamy sand.
The sandstone (Cr horizon) has 10YR or 7.5YR hue, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 6. Thin or very thin wavy reddish bands are evident to a depth of many feet in the sandstone.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Gotham, Lilah, Moundville, Pearl, Richford, Spinks, and Watertown soils in the same family and the Basehor, Chelsea, Eleva, Hesch, and Hixton series. All of these soils except the Basehor, Eleva, Hesch, and Hixton series do not have a paralithic contact above a depth of 40 inches. Basehor soils have a paralithic contact at a depth of 10 to 20 inches. Eleva soils are coarse-loamy. Hesch soils are coarse-loamy and have a mollic epipedon. Hixton soils are fine-loamy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Montieth soils are on the lower part of convex side slopes of 9 to 40 percent gradient. They occur below soils formed in Kansan or Nebraskan till and are upslope from soils formed in shale, clayey residuum, and hard limestone bedrock. They formed in residuum from Dakota sandstone. The sandstone is 10 feet to more than 80 feet thick. Mean annual temperature ranges from 48 to 56 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 30 to 34 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These typically are the Gara, Lindley, Hesch, and Gosport soils. Gara and Lindley soils occur upslope and Gosport soils typically are downslope. Hesch soils are on similar landscapes. Gara soils formed in clay loam glacial till and Gosport soils in clayey shale.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Permeability is rapid or very rapid above the cemented sandstone. Surface runoff is medium or high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Commonly used for pasture. Some areas are partly wooded but these are also generally pastured. Some of the less sloping areas are cultivated. Native vegetation was prairie grasses and deciduous trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and southern Iowa and possibly in adjoining states. They are of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Guthrie County, Iowa, 1981.
REMARKS: The profile described appears to be developed entirely from sandstone, although some pebbles are present in the upper part of the solum. Some pedons have less defined clay-iron bands than are in the typical pedon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Data for this site are available at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.