LOCATION PATHFINDER NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic Aridic Ustifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Pathfinder loamy fine sand in cropland converted to grassland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 13 centimeters (0 to 5 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 15 centimeters (3 to 6 inches) thick)
C1--13 to 46 centimeters (5 to 18 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sand stratified with thin lenses of loamy fine sand and fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose, very friable; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; the iron accumulations are relict redoximorphic features; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C2--46 to 74 centimeters (18 to 29 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) fine sandy loam stratified with thin lenses of loamy fine sand and fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; the iron accumulations are relict redoximorphic features;mottles; massive; slightly hard, friable; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C3--74 to 97 centimeters (29 to 38 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy fine sand stratified with thin lenses of fine sand and fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist single grain; soft, very friable; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; the iron accumulations are relict redoximorphic features; violent effervescence; strongly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C4--97 to 122 centimeters (38 to 48 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sand stratified with thin lenses of loamy fine sand and fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; single grain; soft, very friable; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; the iron accumulations are relict redoximorphic features; violent effervescence; strongly alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
C5--122 to 152 centimeters (48 to 60 inches); pale brown (10YR 6/3) fine sand stratified with thin lenses of loamy fine sand and fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist single grain; soft, very friable; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist irregularly shaped masses of iron accumulations in the matrix; the iron accumulations are relict redoximorphic features; violent effervescence; very strongly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Sioux County, Nebraska; about 5 kilometers (3 miles) west and 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of Morrill, Nebraska; 1300 feet south and 200 feet west of the center of section 36, T. 24 N., R. 58 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Calcareous: typically throughout but are noncalcareous in the upper few inches in some pedons
Texture: variable due to the stratification, but loamy fine sand and fine sand predominates at depths less than 102 centimeters (40 inches)
Sandstone gravel: 5 percent by volume in the C horizon
Mottles in the C horizon: indicative of present wetness conditions
A horizon:
Hue: 2.5YR to 10YR
Value: 5 or 6, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: typically loamy fine sand but ranges to include fine sand
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
C horizon
Hue: 2.5YR to 10YR
Value: 6 or 7, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline in the upper part and moderately alkaline to very strongly alkaline in the lower part
Electrical conductivity C horizon: 0 to 8 mmhos/centimeter
Sodium adsorption ratio: typically 6 to 13 but may range up to 15 in the lower parts of some pedons
Accumulations of secondary carbonates: soft concretions or seams are in the C horizon in some pedons
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Broadwater,
Happyditch and
Levante(T) series.
Broadwater soils contain 15 to 35 percent by volume of gravel in the lower part of the series control section.
Happyditch soils do not have iron masses within the soil profile.
Levante soils have rock fragment content of 15 to 35 percent.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: flood plains that rarely flood
Slopes: 0 to 3 percent
Parent material: calcareous stratified sandy alluvium
Mean annual temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C. (47 to 49 degrees F.)
Mean annual precipitation: 36 to 46 centimeters (14 to 18 inches) with the peak periods of precipitation in the spring and early summer.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Bankard,
Janise,
Las Animas and
Lisco soils.
Janise, Las Animas and Lisco soils have a higher seasonal water table.
Janise soils are coarse-silty.
Las Animas and Lisco soils are coarse-loamy.
Bankard soils are very similar and occur on similar landscapes.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: somewhat excessively drained
Runoff: low
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: High.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Pathfinder soil is used as rangeland and irrigated cropland.
Corn and sugar beets are the main crops grown.
Native vegetation is predominantly alkali sacaton, inland saltgrass, western wheatgrass and blue gramma.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Flood plains along major tributaries of the North Platte River in extreme western Nebraska. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sioux County, Nebraska, 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 13 centimeters (0 to 5 inches) (Ap horizon).
This soil is mapped Bankard loamy fine sand, alkali, wet variant in the adjoining Scotts Bluff County Soil Survey Report. The Pathfinder soil has a lower seasonal water table than Bankard, alkali, wet variant. The water table in the area has been lowered possibly the result of deepening of the channel of nearby Sheep Creek. Where this soil is irrigated the upper part of the profile is typically more leached of alkali than in the non-irrigated areas.
Modified format by LRM in 7/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.