LOCATION TRUCKTON           CO+WY
Established Series
Rev. GB/LLC
12/1999

TRUCKTON SERIES


The Truckton series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in locally transported parent materials derived from arkose beds. These soils are on gently to moderately steeply sloping fans, terraces, valley side slopes, hills and ridges. The slope range from 0 to 30 or more percent. The mean annual precipitation is 17 inches and the mean annual temperature is 53 degrees.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Truckton coarse sandy loam - grassland.
(Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 5 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coarse sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)

Bt1--5 to 18 inches brown (10YR 5/3) coarse sandy loam, very dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse prismatic structure that parts to coarse and medium subangular blocks; hard, very friable; peds are extremely hard, very friable; thin patchy clay films on peds and in root channels and pores; clay bridging between sand grains; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)

Bt2--18 to 24 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) coarse sandy loam, olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very friable; few thin patchy clay films on some peds and in some root channels and pores; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)

C--24 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) coarse sandy loam, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; massive; extremely hard, very friable; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: El Paso County, Colorado; near the southeast corner of Sec. 8, T. 14 S., R. 65 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Truckton soils typically are noncalcareous to depths of more than 60 inches. Base saturation typically is more than 80 percent and ranges from 60 to 100 percent. Rock fragments range from 0 to 15 percent by volume in a major part of the solum and C horizon above depth of 50 inches and are mainly less than 3 inches in diameter but range from 1/8 to 10 inches in diameter. Within the sand fraction a high percentage is medium and coarser angular sand which has a large proportion of flat bearing surfaces between sand grains. The soils range from slightly acid to mildly alkaline. Mean annual soil temperature is 49 degrees F., and mean summer soil temperature is 70 degrees F.

The A horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 through 6. It is typically coarse sandy loam and has 5 to 18 percent clay, 5 to 35 percent silt, and 50 to 80 percent sand. Loamy sand or coarser soils are excluded from the above range.

The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR. It is coarse sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy coarse sand.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Eastonville, Julesburg, Manter, Mawer, and Torrington series. Eastonville soils have noncontrasting loamy coarse sand or coarse sand C horizons. Julesburg soils have loamy sand or sand C horizons, have only small amounts of medium, coarse, and very coarse angular sand, and lack the hard setting characteristics of the Truckton soils. Manter soils are calcareous in the lower part of the solum and in the C horizon and have continuous horizons of secondary calcium carbonate accumulation. Mawer soils have noncontrasting sandy-skeletal substrata. Torrington soils overlie soft bedrock.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Truckton soils are on gently to moderately steeply sloping fans, terraces, valley side slopes, hills and ridges. Slope gradients range from 0 to 30 or more percent. The soils formed in locally transported parent materials derived from arkose beds. In some pedons the parent arkose beds are shallower than 40 inches but are of such low contrast that they cannot be consistently identified. At the type location the mean annual precipitation is 17 inches, with peak periods of precipitation in the spring and summer.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bresser and Bijou soils. Bresser soils have fine-loamy argillic horizons. Bijou soils lack mollic epipedons. Truckton soils occur in some landscapes in a topographic sequence with the Blakeland and Besser soils.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well-drained; slow runoff; moderately rapid permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used principally as native pastureland, however, they are used for dryland crops in some instances. They are occasionally irrigated successfully. Native vegetation is predominantly short grass with some associated tall grasses and annual weeds.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East-central Colorado. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado

SERIES ESTABLISHED: East Elbert County Area, Colorado, 1964.

REMARKS: OSED scanned and cleaned up by Colorado. Last revised by state on 5/74.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.