LOCATION SCHALLER NDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Entic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Schaller fine sandy loam - on a northeast-facing, convex, 14 percent slope in native grass. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. Where described, the soil was dry throughout.)
A--0 to 9 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; 5 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
Bk--9 to 15 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; 5 percent gravel; fine masses of carbonates; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
C--15 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) gravelly loamy coarse sand, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; 20 percent gravel; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Grant County, North Dakota: 14 miles east and 17 miles south of Carson; 700 feet east and 90 feet south of the northwest corner, sec. 18, T. 131 N., R. 84 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to carbonates ranges from 5 to 15 inches. Some pedons have carbonates only as coatings on the underside of pebbles. The mollic epipedon typically is 7 to 9 inches thick, but ranges to 16 inches in thickness where texture is loamy fine sand or coarser.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loamy sand, gravelly sandy loam or gravelly loamy fine sand. It is neutral or slightly alkaline.
The Bk 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 is fine sandy loam to gravelly coarse sand. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is coarse sand, loamy coarse sand, sand or loamy sand containing 2 to 35 percent gravel. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Lihen and Telfer soils in the same family and the Wabek series. Lihen and Telfer soils have a fine sand control section. Wabek soils are sandy-skeletal.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Schaller soils are on level to very steep outwash terraces, terrace escarpments and eskers. Slopes are plane or convex and gradients range from 0 to 45 percent. The soil formed in sandy and gravelly glaciofluvial deposits. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 38 degrees to 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 13 to 18 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Wabek soils and the Bowdle, Cabba, Flasher, Lehr, Manning, Parshall, Ruso, Shambo and Stady series. Wabek, Bowdle, Lehr, Manning, Parshall, Ruso, Shambo and Stady soils are on similar terraces and outwash plains as Schaller soils. Bowdle, Lehr and Stady soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal. Manning soils are coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal. Parshall and Ruso soils are coarse-loamy. Shambo soils are fine-loamy. Cabba and Flasher soils on surrounding higher uplands. They are shallow to siltstone and sandstone, respectively.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Surface runoff is slow or medium. Permeability is rapid or very rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for native grass range. Native vegetation is needleandthread, prairie sandreed, blue grama, sand dropseed, sedges and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western North Dakota. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Grant County, North Dakota, 1985.
REMARKS: Diagnostic properties and horizons recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 9 inches (A horizon).