LOCATION SUTLEY             SD+ND
Established Series
Rev. TMS-WJB
10/98

SUTLEY SERIES


The Sutley series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in calcareous loess or silty glacial drift on uplands. The soils have moderate permeability. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about l6 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 43 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Calciustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Sutley silt loam - on gently sloping northeast- facing slope in alfalfa. When described, the soil was moist to 20 inches and dry below. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 6 inches; dark brown (l0YR 4/3) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (l0YR 3/2) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; many very fine roots and pores; strong effervescence; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)

Bk--6 to 24 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; common fine roots and tubular pores; many fine accumulations of carbonates; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (l0 to 20 inches thick)

C--24 to 60 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable; few fine accumulations of carbonates; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Campbell County, South Dakota; about 1 mile south and 6 miles west of Herreid, 1,100 feet south and 160 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 19, T. 127 N., R. 77 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to free carbonates is less than 10 inches. Areas in native grass are leached of carbonates in the upper few inches in some pedons. Particle size control section contains 12 to 18 percent clay.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 2 or 3 dry or moist. It is silt loam or very fine sandy loam. It ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline. An AC horizon, 2 to 5 inches thick, is present in some pedons and has colors similar to the A horizon.

The Bk and C horizon have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7 and 4 to 6 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4 dry or moist. It is silt loam or very fine sandy loam. It is slightly or moderately alkaline. The Bk horizon has few to many, fine to coarse accumulations of carbonates. Some pedons have sandstone, shale, or glacial till at depths of 40 to 60 inches.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Quagle and Sakakawea series in the same family. Quagle soils contain more than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section. Sakakawea soils are stratified and mottled above a depth of 40 inches.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sutley soils are on nearly level to strongly sloping uplands. Slope gradients dominantly are 0 to l5 percent but range to 25 percent. Slopes are plane to convex. These soils formed in calcareous loess or silty glacial drift. The mean annual temperature is less than 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from l5 to l8 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bryant, Cabba, Grassna, Linton, Vida, and Zahl soils. Bryant soils are fine-silty. Linton soils are leached of carbonates to greater depths. They are on similar landscapes as the Sutley soils. Cabba soils are shallow to a paralithic contact. Grassna soils have mollic epipedons greater than l6 inches thick and are on slightly lower positions on the landscape. Vida and Zahl soils are fine-loamy.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff ranges from low on nearly level soils to medium and high on more sloping soils. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Areas are used for both cultivated crops and native grass. The main crops are spring wheat, corn, oats, and alfalfa. Native vegetation is mainly needleandthread, western wheatgrass, blue grama, and little bluestem.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central South Dakota and south-central North Dakota. The soil is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Campbell County, South Dakota, l978.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Mollic epipedon - the mixed zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 7 inches (Ap horizon); Calcic horizon - the zone from about 6 to 24 inches (Bk horizon).


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.