LOCATION SCOTCO                  MO

Established Series
Rev. RLT-LJG
10/2018

SCOTCO SERIES


The Scotco series consists of very deep, excessively drained soils formed in sandy alluvial sediments on broad, old natural levees. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 61 degrees F and mean annual precipitation is about 46 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, thermic Typic Udipsamments

TYPICAL PEDON: Scotco sand - on a 1 percent convex slope in an uncultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 9 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sand; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 14 inches thick)

Bw1--9 to 20 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sand; single grained; loose; common fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (7 to 16 inches thick)

Bw2--20 to 32 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) coarse sand; single grained; loose; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)

C--32 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) coarse sand; single grained; loose; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Scott County, Missouri; about 5 miles east of Benton; 1,500 feet east and 1,300 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 35, T. 28 N., R. 14 E. Latitude 37 degrees, 3 minutes, 8.4 seconds N., longitude 89 degrees, 28 minutes, 51.1 seconds W., NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum commonly is 24 to 45 inches. It is strongly acid to neutral.

The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 through 4. It is typically sand or loamy sand, but loamy coarse sand and coarse sand are within the range.

The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 4 through 8. It is sand or coarse sand but loamy sand or loamy coarse sand are within the range and, when present, generally occur in the upper part of the Bw horizon. Some pedons have mottles in shades of brown in the lower part of the B horizons.

The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 through 6 and chroma of 4 through 8. It generally is coarse sand but sand is within the range. Some pedons have as much as 25 gravel less than 7 mm in diameter at depths below 4 feet.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Soils in similar families are the Canalou, Crevasse, Hodge, Malden, and Sarpy series. Canalou soils contain more silt and slightly more clay. Crevasse soils are subject to frequent flooding and lack hues redder than 10YR in the control section. Hodge soils are mesic and contain more fine sand. Malden soils contain more fine sand and have mixed mineralogy. Sarpy soils have mixed mineralogy.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Scotco soils formed in sandy alluvial sediments. They are nearly level or gently undulating and slopes typically are 1 to 6 percent but range from 0 to 15 percent. These soils occupy broad, old natural levees. Many areas have a dune-like topography. The mean annual temperature ranges from 59 to 65 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 42 to 52 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Broseley, Canalou, Diehlstadt, Malden and Sikeston soils. The Diehlstadt and Sikeston soils occur on nearly level or in depressional drainageways and have chroma of 2 or less through the control section. The Broseley soils have loamy argillic horizons and occur on similar landscapes.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Runoff is negligible to very low. Permeability is rapid or very rapid. The saturated hydraulic conductivity is very high.

USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cultivated. Corn, soybeans and wheat are the principal crops. Some areas are idle or grown up with weeds and brush. Native vegetation was oak (mostly Blackjack oak and post oak), hickory, sassafras, hawthorn, and prickly pear.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Mississippi River Valley (MLRA 131) area of Missouri. The series is of moderate extent, probably somewhat less than 50,000 acres.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AUBURN, ALABAMA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, and Scott Counties, Missouri, 1978.

REMARKS: These soils have been mapped in other counties as a variant of the Crevasse series. These soils were formerly mapped within the now inactive Clark series.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.