LOCATION WAKEEN KS+NEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, carbonatic, mesic Entic Haplustolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Wakeen silty clay loam - native range. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; strong medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (18 to 51 centimeters (7 to 20 inches) thick)
Bw--30 to 58 centimeters (12 to 23 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many worm casts having slightly darker color than soil mass; segregated carbonates in form of threads and films; violent effervescence; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 38 centimeters (6 to 15 inches) thick)
BC--58 to 91 centimeters (23 to 36 inches); very pale brown (10YR 8/3) silty clay loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; some bedding planes in lower part; hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many soft bodies of lime and soft bodies of chalk in lower part; violent effervescence; strongly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (18 to 51 centimeters (7 to 20 inches) thick)
Cr--91 centimeters (36 inches); very pale brown (10YR 8/2) chalky limestone; apparent bedding planes and vertical cracks; becomes less fractured with depth.
TYPE LOCATION: Ellis County, Kansas; 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north and 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) east of Ellis; 137 meters (450 feet) west and 759 meters (2490 feet) north of the southeast corner, sec. 28, T. 12 S., R. 20 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to chalky limestone: 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Mollic epipedon: 18 to 51 centimeters (7 to 20 inches) thick
Chalk fragments: common in the lower part of the solum
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately alkaline
Bw horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 5 to 8, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
BC horizon:
Hue: 2.5Y, 10YR, or 7.5YR
Value: 6 to 8, 5 to 7 moist
Chroma: 2 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: erosional uplands that have a convex to slightly concave surface
Slope: 1 to 20 percent
Parent material: silty residuum weathered from Cretaceous age chalky limestone and shale, upper part presumed to have a component of silty eolian material
Mean annual temperature: 11 to 13 degrees C. (52 to 56 degrees F.)
Mean annual precipitation: 51 to 71 centimeters (20 to 28 inches)
Thornthwaite Annual P-E Index: 34 to 44
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Corinth,
Crete,
Harney,
Holdrege,
Mento, and
Nibson soils.
Corinth, Mento, and Nibson soils are on similar topographic positions.
Crete, Harney, and Holdrege soils are on areas of thicker loess and have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: well drained
Runoff: medium or rapid
Saturated hydraulic conductivity: moderately high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Gentle slopes are mostly cropped and steeper slopes are usually in native range.
Principal crops are winter wheat and sorghum.
Native vegetation is tall and mid prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Predominantly in the dissected eastern margin of the high plains of central Kansas and adjoining areas of Nebraska. Series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ellis County, Kansas, 1970.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon: 0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches) (A horizon)
Cambic horizon: 30 to 91 centimeters (12 inches to 36 inches) (Bw, BC horizons)
Paralithic contact: chalky shale bedrock at 91 centimeters (36 inches)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Two pedons were sampled in the same general area as the typical pedon described here. The data is listed under NSSL sample numbers 68L408-68L414 and 69L415-68L422.
Modified format by LRM in 2/2006 to include metric conversion and change permeability to saturated hydraulic conductivity.