United States

Department of
Agriculture

Natural
Resources
Conservation
Service

A product of the National

Cooperative Soil Survey,
a joint effort of the United
States Department of
Agriculture and other
Federal agencies, State
agencies including the
Agricultural Experiment
Stations, and local
participants

Custom Soil Resource

Report for

Cleveland
County,
Oklahoma
Griffin Site

January 30, 2015

Preface
Soil surveys contain information that affects land use planning in survey areas. They
highlight soil limitations that affect various land uses and provide information about
the properties of the soils in the survey areas. Soil surveys are designed for many
different users, including farmers, ranchers, foresters, agronomists, urban planners,
community officials, engineers, developers, builders, and home buyers. Also,
conservationists, teachers, students, and specialists in recreation, waste disposal,
and pollution control can use the surveys to help them understand, protect, or enhance
the environment.
Various land use regulations of Federal, State, and local governments may impose
special restrictions on land use or land treatment. Soil surveys identify soil properties
that are used in making various land use or land treatment decisions. The information
is intended to help the land users identify and reduce the effects of soil limitations on
various land uses. The landowner or user is responsible for identifying and complying
with existing laws and regulations.
Although soil survey information can be used for general farm, local, and wider area
planning, onsite investigation is needed to supplement this information in some cases.
Examples include soil quality assessments (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/
nrcs/main/soils/health/) and certain conservation and engineering applications. For
more detailed information, contact your local USDA Service Center (http://
offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs) or your NRCS State Soil
Scientist (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/contactus/?
cid=nrcs142p2_053951).
Great differences in soil properties can occur within short distances. Some soils are
seasonally wet or subject to flooding. Some are too unstable to be used as a
foundation for buildings or roads. Clayey or wet soils are poorly suited to use as septic
tank absorption fields. A high water table makes a soil poorly suited to basements or
underground installations.
The National Cooperative Soil Survey is a joint effort of the United States Department
of Agriculture and other Federal agencies, State agencies including the Agricultural
Experiment Stations, and local agencies. The Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) has leadership for the Federal part of the National Cooperative Soil
Survey.
Information about soils is updated periodically. Updated information is available
through the NRCS Web Soil Survey, the site for official soil survey information.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs
and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where
applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual
orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an
individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited
bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means

for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should
contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a
complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272
(voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and
employer.

Contents
Preface....................................................................................................................2
How Soil Surveys Are Made..................................................................................5
Soil Map..................................................................................................................7
Soil Map................................................................................................................8
Legend..................................................................................................................9
Map Unit Legend................................................................................................10
Map Unit Descriptions........................................................................................10
Cleveland County, Oklahoma.........................................................................12
49Kirkland-Urban land-Pawhuska complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes.........12
51Kirkland-Pawhuska complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes............................14
53Kirkland-Pawhuska complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes, eroded...............16
59Bethany-Urban land complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes...........................18
65Renfrow-Huska complex, 3 to 5 percent slopes, eroded.....................20
69Renfrow-Urban land-Huska complex, 1 to 5 percent slopes...............22
94Port silt loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, frequently flooded......................25
References............................................................................................................27
Glossary................................................................................................................29

How Soil Surveys Are Made

Soil surveys are made to provide information about the soils and miscellaneous areas
in a specific area. They include a description of the soils and miscellaneous areas and
their location on the landscape and tables that show soil properties and limitations
affecting various uses. Soil scientists observed the steepness, length, and shape of
the slopes; the general pattern of drainage; the kinds of crops and native plants; and
the kinds of bedrock. They observed and described many soil profiles. A soil profile is
the sequence of natural layers, or horizons, in a soil. The profile extends from the
surface down into the unconsolidated material in which the soil formed or from the
surface down to bedrock. The unconsolidated material is devoid of roots and other
living organisms and has not been changed by other biological activity.
Currently, soils are mapped according to the boundaries of major land resource areas
(MLRAs). MLRAs are geographically associated land resource units that share
common characteristics related to physiography, geology, climate, water resources,
soils, biological resources, and land uses (USDA, 2006). Soil survey areas typically
consist of parts of one or more MLRA.
The soils and miscellaneous areas in a survey area occur in an orderly pattern that is
related to the geology, landforms, relief, climate, and natural vegetation of the area.
Each kind of soil and miscellaneous area is associated with a particular kind of
landform or with a segment of the landform. By observing the soils and miscellaneous
areas in the survey area and relating their position to specific segments of the
landform, a soil scientist develops a concept, or model, of how they were formed. Thus,
during mapping, this model enables the soil scientist to predict with a considerable
degree of accuracy the kind of soil or miscellaneous area at a specific location on the
landscape.
Commonly, individual soils on the landscape merge into one another as their
characteristics gradually change. To construct an accurate soil map, however, soil
scientists must determine the boundaries between the soils. They can observe only
a limited number of soil profiles. Nevertheless, these observations, supplemented by
an understanding of the soil-vegetation-landscape relationship, are sufficient to verify
predictions of the kinds of soil in an area and to determine the boundaries.
Soil scientists recorded the characteristics of the soil profiles that they studied. They
noted soil color, texture, size and shape of soil aggregates, kind and amount of rock
fragments, distribution of plant roots, reaction, and other features that enable them to
identify soils. After describing the soils in the survey area and determining their
properties, the soil scientists assigned the soils to taxonomic classes (units).
Taxonomic classes are concepts. Each taxonomic class has a set of soil
characteristics with precisely defined limits. The classes are used as a basis for
comparison to classify soils systematically. Soil taxonomy, the system of taxonomic
classification used in the United States, is based mainly on the kind and character of
soil properties and the arrangement of horizons within the profile. After the soil
scientists classified and named the soils in the survey area, they compared the

Custom Soil Resource Report

individual soils with similar soils in the same taxonomic class in other areas so that
they could confirm data and assemble additional data based on experience and
research.
The objective of soil mapping is not to delineate pure map unit components; the
objective is to separate the landscape into landforms or landform segments that have
similar use and management requirements. Each map unit is defined by a unique
combination of soil components and/or miscellaneous areas in predictable
proportions. Some components may be highly contrasting to the other components of
the map unit. The presence of minor components in a map unit in no way diminishes
the usefulness or accuracy of the data. The delineation of such landforms and
landform segments on the map provides sufficient information for the development of
resource plans. If intensive use of small areas is planned, onsite investigation is
needed to define and locate the soils and miscellaneous areas.
Soil scientists make many field observations in the process of producing a soil map.
The frequency of observation is dependent upon several factors, including scale of
mapping, intensity of mapping, design of map units, complexity of the landscape, and
experience of the soil scientist. Observations are made to test and refine the soillandscape model and predictions and to verify the classification of the soils at specific
locations. Once the soil-landscape model is refined, a significantly smaller number of
measurements of individual soil properties are made and recorded. These
measurements may include field measurements, such as those for color, depth to
bedrock, and texture, and laboratory measurements, such as those for content of
sand, silt, clay, salt, and other components. Properties of each soil typically vary from
one point to another across the landscape.
Observations for map unit components are aggregated to develop ranges of
characteristics for the components. The aggregated values are presented. Direct
measurements do not exist for every property presented for every map unit
component. Values for some properties are estimated from combinations of other
properties.
While a soil survey is in progress, samples of some of the soils in the area generally
are collected for laboratory analyses and for engineering tests. Soil scientists interpret
the data from these analyses and tests as well as the field-observed characteristics
and the soil properties to determine the expected behavior of the soils under different
uses. Interpretations for all of the soils are field tested through observation of the soils
in different uses and under different levels of management. Some interpretations are
modified to fit local conditions, and some new interpretations are developed to meet
local needs. Data are assembled from other sources, such as research information,
production records, and field experience of specialists. For example, data on crop
yields under defined levels of management are assembled from farm records and from
field or plot experiments on the same kinds of soil.
Predictions about soil behavior are based not only on soil properties but also on such
variables as climate and biological activity. Soil conditions are predictable over long
periods of time, but they are not predictable from year to year. For example, soil
scientists can predict with a fairly high degree of accuracy that a given soil will have
a high water table within certain depths in most years, but they cannot predict that a
high water table will always be at a specific level in the soil on a specific date.
After soil scientists located and identified the significant natural bodies of soil in the
survey area, they drew the boundaries of these bodies on aerial photographs and
identified each as a specific map unit. Aerial photographs show trees, buildings, fields,
roads, and rivers, all of which help in locating boundaries accurately.

Soil Map
The soil map section includes the soil map for the defined area of interest, a list of soil
map units on the map and extent of each map unit, and cartographic symbols
displayed on the map. Also presented are various metadata about data used to
produce the map, and a description of each soil map unit.

642500

642800

643100

643400

643700
3900800

3900800

642200

3900200

3900200

3899900

3899900

3899600

3899600

3899300

3899300

3899000

3899000

3898700

3898700

642800

643100

643400

Map Scale: 1:12,000 if printed on A portrait (8.5" x 11") sheet.

Meters
900
Feet
0
500
1000
2000
3000
Map projection: Web Mercator Corner coordinates: WGS84 Edge tics: UTM Zone 14N WGS84

150

300

600

643700

644000
97 25' 3'' W

642500

3898400

3898400
642200
97 26' 17'' W

35 13' 5'' N

35 14' 25'' N

3900500

3900500

35 14' 25'' N

97 25' 3'' W

97 26' 17'' W

Custom Soil Resource Report

Soil Map

35 13' 5'' N

Custom Soil Resource Report

MAP LEGEND
Area of Interest (AOI)
Area of Interest (AOI)
Soils
Soil Map Unit Polygons
Soil Map Unit Lines
Soil Map Unit Points
Special Point Features
Blowout
Borrow Pit
Clay Spot
Closed Depression
Gravel Pit
Gravelly Spot
Landfill
Lava Flow
Marsh or swamp

MAP INFORMATION
The soil surveys that comprise your AOI were mapped at 1:24,000.

Spoil Area
Stony Spot

Please rely on the bar scale on each map sheet for map
measurements.

Very Stony Spot

Wet Spot

Source of Map: Natural Resources Conservation Service

Web Soil Survey URL: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov
Coordinate System: Web Mercator (EPSG:3857)

Other
Special Line Features
Water Features

Maps from the Web Soil Survey are based on the Web Mercator
projection, which preserves direction and shape but distorts
distance and area. A projection that preserves area, such as the
Albers equal-area conic projection, should be used if more accurate
calculations of distance or area are required.

Streams and Canals

Transportation
Rails
Interstate Highways

This product is generated from the USDA-NRCS certified data as of

the version date(s) listed below.

US Routes
Major Roads

Soil Survey Area: Cleveland County, Oklahoma

Survey Area Data: Version 10, Sep 17, 2014

Local Roads
Background
Aerial Photography

Soil map units are labeled (as space allows) for map scales 1:50,000
or larger.

Mine or Quarry
Miscellaneous Water

Date(s) aerial images were photographed:

15, 2014

Perennial Water
Rock Outcrop

Feb 28, 2011May

The orthophoto or other base map on which the soil lines were
compiled and digitized probably differs from the background
imagery displayed on these maps. As a result, some minor shifting
of map unit boundaries may be evident.

Saline Spot
Sandy Spot
Severely Eroded Spot
Sinkhole
Slide or Slip
Sodic Spot

Custom Soil Resource Report

Map Unit Legend

Cleveland County, Oklahoma (OK027)
Map Unit Symbol

Map Unit Name

Acres in AOI

Percent of AOI

49

Kirkland-Urban land-Pawhuska
complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes

83.7

51.5%

51

Kirkland-Pawhuska complex, 0
to 3 percent slopes

3.8

2.4%

53

Kirkland-Pawhuska complex, 0
to 3 percent slopes, eroded

24.1

14.9%

59

Bethany-Urban land complex, 0

to 3 percent slopes

1.0

0.6%

65

Renfrow-Huska complex, 3 to 5
percent slopes, eroded

10.2

6.3%

69

Renfrow-Urban land-Huska
complex, 1 to 5 percent slopes

28.3

17.4%

94

Port silt loam, 0 to 1 percent

slopes, frequently flooded

11.2

6.9%

162.4

100.0%

Totals for Area of Interest

Map Unit Descriptions

The map units delineated on the detailed soil maps in a soil survey represent the soils
or miscellaneous areas in the survey area. The map unit descriptions, along with the
maps, can be used to determine the composition and properties of a unit.
A map unit delineation on a soil map represents an area dominated by one or more
major kinds of soil or miscellaneous areas. A map unit is identified and named
according to the taxonomic classification of the dominant soils. Within a taxonomic
class there are precisely defined limits for the properties of the soils. On the landscape,
however, the soils are natural phenomena, and they have the characteristic variability
of all natural phenomena. Thus, the range of some observed properties may extend
beyond the limits defined for a taxonomic class. Areas of soils of a single taxonomic
class rarely, if ever, can be mapped without including areas of other taxonomic
classes. Consequently, every map unit is made up of the soils or miscellaneous areas
for which it is named and some minor components that belong to taxonomic classes
other than those of the major soils.
Most minor soils have properties similar to those of the dominant soil or soils in the
map unit, and thus they do not affect use and management. These are called
noncontrasting, or similar, components. They may or may not be mentioned in a
particular map unit description. Other minor components, however, have properties
and behavioral characteristics divergent enough to affect use or to require different
management. These are called contrasting, or dissimilar, components. They generally
are in small areas and could not be mapped separately because of the scale used.
Some small areas of strongly contrasting soils or miscellaneous areas are identified
by a special symbol on the maps. If included in the database for a given area, the
contrasting minor components are identified in the map unit descriptions along with

10

Custom Soil Resource Report

some characteristics of each. A few areas of minor components may not have been
observed, and consequently they are not mentioned in the descriptions, especially
where the pattern was so complex that it was impractical to make enough observations
to identify all the soils and miscellaneous areas on the landscape.
The presence of minor components in a map unit in no way diminishes the usefulness
or accuracy of the data. The objective of mapping is not to delineate pure taxonomic
classes but rather to separate the landscape into landforms or landform segments that
have similar use and management requirements. The delineation of such segments
on the map provides sufficient information for the development of resource plans. If
intensive use of small areas is planned, however, onsite investigation is needed to
define and locate the soils and miscellaneous areas.
An identifying symbol precedes the map unit name in the map unit descriptions. Each
description includes general facts about the unit and gives important soil properties
and qualities.
Soils that have profiles that are almost alike make up a soil series. Except for
differences in texture of the surface layer, all the soils of a series have major horizons
that are similar in composition, thickness, and arrangement.
Soils of one series can differ in texture of the surface layer, slope, stoniness, salinity,
degree of erosion, and other characteristics that affect their use. On the basis of such
differences, a soil series is divided into soil phases. Most of the areas shown on the
detailed soil maps are phases of soil series. The name of a soil phase commonly
indicates a feature that affects use or management. For example, Alpha silt loam, 0
to 2 percent slopes, is a phase of the Alpha series.
Some map units are made up of two or more major soils or miscellaneous areas.
These map units are complexes, associations, or undifferentiated groups.
A complex consists of two or more soils or miscellaneous areas in such an intricate
pattern or in such small areas that they cannot be shown separately on the maps. The
pattern and proportion of the soils or miscellaneous areas are somewhat similar in all
areas. Alpha-Beta complex, 0 to 6 percent slopes, is an example.
An association is made up of two or more geographically associated soils or
miscellaneous areas that are shown as one unit on the maps. Because of present or
anticipated uses of the map units in the survey area, it was not considered practical
or necessary to map the soils or miscellaneous areas separately. The pattern and
relative proportion of the soils or miscellaneous areas are somewhat similar. AlphaBeta association, 0 to 2 percent slopes, is an example.
An undifferentiated group is made up of two or more soils or miscellaneous areas that
could be mapped individually but are mapped as one unit because similar
interpretations can be made for use and management. The pattern and proportion of
the soils or miscellaneous areas in a mapped area are not uniform. An area can be
made up of only one of the major soils or miscellaneous areas, or it can be made up
of all of them. Alpha and Beta soils, 0 to 2 percent slopes, is an example.
Some surveys include miscellaneous areas. Such areas have little or no soil material
and support little or no vegetation. Rock outcrop is an example.

11

Custom Soil Resource Report

Cleveland County, Oklahoma

49Kirkland-Urban land-Pawhuska complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes
Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: dtm5
Elevation: 700 to 2,000 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 22 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 57 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 185 to 230 days
Farmland classification: Not prime farmland
Map Unit Composition
Kirkland and similar soils: 40 percent
Urban land: 40 percent
Pawhuska and similar soils: 15 percent
Minor components: 5 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Urban Land
Setting
Parent material: Clayey mine spoil or earthy fill
Typical profile
C - 0 to 60 inches: variable
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 8
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Description of Kirkland
Setting
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Rise
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Parent material: Clayey alluvium over clayey residuum weathered from calcareous
shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 9 inches: silt loam
BA - 9 to 12 inches: silt loam
Btkss - 12 to 40 inches: silty clay
Btk - 40 to 80 inches: silty clay
Properties and qualities
Slope: 1 to 3 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Low to moderately low
(0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)

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Custom Soil Resource Report

Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to very slightly saline (2.0 to 4.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 16.0
Available water storage in profile: Moderate (about 8.5 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 3e
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY055OK)
Description of Pawhuska
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Summit
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Parent material: Saline clayey residuum weathered from sandstone and shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 6 inches: silt loam
Btn - 6 to 17 inches: silty clay
Btkn1 - 17 to 51 inches: silty clay
Btkn2 - 51 to 72 inches: silty clay
Properties and qualities
Slope: 1 to 3 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Moderately well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Low to moderately low
(0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to moderately saline (2.0 to 16.0 mmhos/
cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 25.0
Available water storage in profile: Moderate (about 7.9 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 4s
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Minor Components
Bethany
Percent of map unit: 3 percent

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Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)
Renfrow
Percent of map unit: 2 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Backslope
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)

51Kirkland-Pawhuska complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes

Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: dtm8
Elevation: 700 to 2,200 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 22 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 57 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 185 to 230 days
Farmland classification: All areas are prime farmland
Map Unit Composition
Kirkland and similar soils: 70 percent
Pawhuska and similar soils: 15 percent
Minor components: 15 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Kirkland
Setting
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Rise
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Parent material: Clayey alluvium over clayey residuum weathered from calcareous
shale
Typical profile
Ap - 0 to 11 inches: silt loam
BA - 11 to 13 inches: silt loam
Btkss - 13 to 36 inches: silty clay
Btk - 36 to 80 inches: silty clay
Properties and qualities
Slope: 0 to 3 percent

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Custom Soil Resource Report

Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Low to moderately low
(0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to very slightly saline (2.0 to 4.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 16.0
Available water storage in profile: Moderate (about 8.7 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 2e
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Ecological site: Claypan prairie (R080AY010OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY055OK)
Description of Pawhuska
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Summit
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Parent material: Saline clayey residuum weathered from sandstone and shale
Typical profile
Ap - 0 to 10 inches: silt loam
Btkn1 - 10 to 43 inches: silty clay
Btkn2 - 43 to 80 inches: silty clay
Properties and qualities
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Moderately well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Low to moderately low
(0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to moderately saline (2.0 to 16.0 mmhos/
cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 25.0
Available water storage in profile: Moderate (about 8.0 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 4s
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Ecological site: Slickspot (R080AY091OK)
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Custom Soil Resource Report

Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Minor Components
Bethany
Percent of map unit: 9 percent
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Ecological site: Loamy prairie (R080AY056OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)
Renfrow
Percent of map unit: 5 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Shoulder
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Ecological site: Claypan prairie (R080AY010OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)
Carwile
Percent of map unit: 1 percent
Landform: Depressions
Down-slope shape: Concave
Across-slope shape: Concave
Ecological site: Depressional upland pe 44-64 (R080AY098OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G078CY999OK)

53Kirkland-Pawhuska complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes, eroded

Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: dtmb
Elevation: 700 to 1,500 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 26 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 57 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 190 to 230 days
Farmland classification: Not prime farmland
Map Unit Composition
Kirkland, eroded, and similar soils: 70 percent
Pawhuska, eroded, and similar soils: 15 percent
Minor components: 15 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Kirkland, Eroded
Setting
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces

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Landform position (three-dimensional): Rise
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Parent material: Clayey alluvium over clayey residuum weathered from calcareous
shale
Typical profile
Ap - 0 to 8 inches: silt loam
Btkss1 - 8 to 51 inches: silty clay
Btkss2 - 51 to 76 inches: silty clay
Btk - 76 to 80 inches: silty clay loam
Properties and qualities
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Low to moderately low
(0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to very slightly saline (2.0 to 4.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 16.0
Available water storage in profile: Moderate (about 8.0 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 3e
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Ecological site: Eroded claypan prairie (north) (obsolete) refer to 80ay010
(R080AY810OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY055OK)
Description of Pawhuska, Eroded
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Summit
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Parent material: Saline clayey residuum weathered from sandstone and shale
Typical profile
Ap - 0 to 8 inches: silt loam
Btkn1 - 8 to 44 inches: silty clay
Btkn2 - 44 to 80 inches: silty clay loam
Properties and qualities
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Moderately well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Low to moderately low
(0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)

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Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to moderately saline (2.0 to 16.0 mmhos/
cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 25.0
Available water storage in profile: Moderate (about 7.9 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 4s
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Ecological site: Eroded slickspot(obsolete) refer to 80ay091 (R080AY891OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Minor Components
Bethany, eroded
Percent of map unit: 8 percent
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Ecological site: Eroded loamy prairie(obsolete) refer to 80ay056 (R080AY856OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)
Renfrow, eroded
Percent of map unit: 7 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Shoulder
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Ecological site: Eroded claypan prairie (north) (obsolete) refer to 80ay010
(R080AY810OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)

59Bethany-Urban land complex, 0 to 3 percent slopes

Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: dtmh
Elevation: 700 to 2,000 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 22 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 57 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 185 to 230 days
Farmland classification: Not prime farmland

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Map Unit Composition

Bethany and similar soils: 45 percent
Urban land: 40 percent
Minor components: 15 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Bethany
Setting
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Parent material: Silty alluvium over clayey residuum weathered from shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 13 inches: silt loam
BA - 13 to 22 inches: silty clay loam
Bt - 22 to 41 inches: silty clay loam
Btk - 41 to 84 inches: silty clay
Properties and qualities
Slope: 1 to 3 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Medium
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately low to
moderately high (0.06 to 0.20 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 10 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline (0.0 to 2.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 4.0
Available water storage in profile: High (about 10.7 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 2e
Hydrologic Soil Group: C
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)
Description of Urban Land
Setting
Parent material: Silty and clayey mine spoil or earthy fill
Typical profile
C - 0 to 60 inches: variable
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 8
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)

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Minor Components
Pawhuska
Percent of map unit: 5 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Summit
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Kirkland
Percent of map unit: 5 percent
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Rise
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY055OK)
Vanoss
Percent of map unit: 5 percent
Landform: Paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY017OK)

65Renfrow-Huska complex, 3 to 5 percent slopes, eroded

Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: dtmq
Elevation: 700 to 1,500 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 26 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 57 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 190 to 230 days
Farmland classification: Not prime farmland
Map Unit Composition
Renfrow, eroded, and similar soils: 65 percent
Huska, eroded, and similar soils: 15 percent
Minor components: 20 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Renfrow, Eroded
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Backslope
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear

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Parent material: Clayey residuum weathered from shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 5 inches: silty clay loam
Btk1 - 5 to 19 inches: silty clay
Btk2 - 19 to 73 inches: silty clay
Cr - 73 to 83 inches: bedrock
Properties and qualities
Slope: 3 to 5 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: 60 to 80 inches to paralithic bedrock
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Very low to moderately
low (0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline (0.0 to 2.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 4.0
Available water storage in profile: High (about 10.3 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 3e
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Ecological site: Eroded claypan prairie (north) (obsolete) refer to 80ay010
(R080AY810OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY045OK)
Description of Huska, Eroded
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Shoulder
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Parent material: Saline clayey residuum weathered from sandstone and shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 6 inches: silt loam
Bt - 6 to 17 inches: silty clay
Btkn - 17 to 53 inches: silty clay
Cr - 53 to 77 inches: bedrock
Properties and qualities
Slope: 3 to 5 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: 40 to 60 inches to paralithic bedrock
Natural drainage class: Moderately well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Very low to moderately
low (0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent

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Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to moderately saline (2.0 to 16.0 mmhos/
cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 55.0
Available water storage in profile: Low (about 4.7 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 6s
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Ecological site: Eroded slickspot(obsolete) refer to 80ay091 (R080AY891OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Minor Components
Grainola, eroded
Percent of map unit: 10 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Backslope
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Ecological site: Eroded claypan prairie (north) (obsolete) refer to 80ay010
(R080AY810OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY260OK)
Norge, eroded
Percent of map unit: 6 percent
Landform: Paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Riser
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Ecological site: Eroded loamy prairie(obsolete) refer to 80ay056 (R080AY856OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY017OK)
Grant, eroded
Percent of map unit: 4 percent
Landform: Paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Riser
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Ecological site: Eroded loamy prairie(obsolete) refer to 80ay056 (R080AY856OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY017OK)

69Renfrow-Urban land-Huska complex, 1 to 5 percent slopes

Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: dtmv
Elevation: 700 to 2,000 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 22 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 57 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 185 to 230 days

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Farmland classification: Not prime farmland
Map Unit Composition
Urban land: 35 percent
Renfrow and similar soils: 35 percent
Huska and similar soils: 15 percent
Minor components: 15 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Renfrow
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Backslope
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Parent material: Clayey residuum weathered from shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 8 inches: silt loam
BA - 8 to 12 inches: silty clay loam
Btk1 - 12 to 52 inches: silty clay
Btk2 - 52 to 62 inches: silty clay
Cr - 62 to 84 inches: bedrock
Properties and qualities
Slope: 3 to 5 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: 60 to 80 inches to paralithic bedrock
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Very low to moderately
low (0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline (0.0 to 2.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 4.0
Available water storage in profile: High (about 10.5 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 3e
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY044OK)
Description of Urban Land
Setting
Parent material: Clayey mine spoil or earthy fill derived from clayey shale
Typical profile
C - 0 to 60 inches: variable
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 8
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
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Description of Huska
Setting
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Shoulder
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Parent material: Saline clayey residuum weathered from sandstone and shale
Typical profile
A - 0 to 4 inches: silt loam
Bt - 4 to 19 inches: silty clay
Btkn1 - 19 to 40 inches: silty clay
Btkn2 - 40 to 46 inches: silty clay loam
Cr - 46 to 56 inches: bedrock
Properties and qualities
Slope: 3 to 5 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: 40 to 60 inches to paralithic bedrock
Natural drainage class: Moderately well drained
Runoff class: Very high
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Very low to moderately
low (0.00 to 0.06 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: None
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Gypsum, maximum in profile: 2 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline to moderately saline (2.0 to 16.0 mmhos/
cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 55.0
Available water storage in profile: Low (about 4.0 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 6s
Hydrologic Soil Group: D
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Minor Components
Grainola
Percent of map unit: 4 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Backslope
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY016OK)
Piedmont
Percent of map unit: 4 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Backslope
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Ecological site: Claypan prairie (R080AY010OK)

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Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY065OK)
Grant
Percent of map unit: 3 percent
Landform: Paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Riser
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Ecological site: Loamy prairie (R080AY056OK)
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY026OK)
Pawhuska
Percent of map unit: 2 percent
Landform: Hillslopes on hills
Landform position (two-dimensional): Shoulder
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Convex
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY999OK)
Kirkland
Percent of map unit: 2 percent
Landform: Plains on paleoterraces
Landform position (three-dimensional): Rise
Down-slope shape: Convex
Across-slope shape: Linear
Other vegetative classification: Unnamed (G080AY055OK)

94Port silt loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, frequently flooded

Map Unit Setting
National map unit symbol: 2tq62
Elevation: 700 to 1,500 feet
Mean annual precipitation: 26 to 40 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 59 to 64 degrees F
Frost-free period: 185 to 220 days
Farmland classification: Not prime farmland
Map Unit Composition
Port, frequently flooded, and similar soils: 95 percent
Minor components: 5 percent
Estimates are based on observations, descriptions, and transects of the mapunit.
Description of Port, Frequently Flooded
Setting
Landform: Flood plains
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear

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Across-slope shape: Linear
Parent material: Calcareous loamy alluvium
Typical profile
Ap - 0 to 9 inches: silt loam
A - 9 to 27 inches: silt loam
Bk - 27 to 42 inches: silty clay loam
BCk - 42 to 72 inches: silt loam
Properties and qualities
Slope: 0 to 1 percent
Depth to restrictive feature: More than 80 inches
Natural drainage class: Well drained
Runoff class: Negligible
Capacity of the most limiting layer to transmit water (Ksat): Moderately high to high
(0.60 to 2.00 in/hr)
Depth to water table: More than 80 inches
Frequency of flooding: Frequent
Frequency of ponding: None
Calcium carbonate, maximum in profile: 7 percent
Salinity, maximum in profile: Nonsaline (0.0 to 2.0 mmhos/cm)
Sodium adsorption ratio, maximum in profile: 4.0
Available water storage in profile: High (about 12.0 inches)
Interpretive groups
Land capability classification (irrigated): None specified
Land capability classification (nonirrigated): 5w
Hydrologic Soil Group: B
Ecological site: Loamy bottomland (R080AY050OK)
Minor Components
Tribbey, frequently flooded
Percent of map unit: 3 percent
Landform: Flood plains
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Ecological site: Subirrigated bottomland (R084AY095OK)
Yahola, frequently flooded
Percent of map unit: 2 percent
Landform: Flood plains
Landform position (three-dimensional): Tread
Down-slope shape: Linear
Across-slope shape: Linear
Ecological site: Loamy bottomland (R080AY050OK)

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References
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). 2004.
Standard specifications for transportation materials and methods of sampling and
testing. 24th edition.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). 2005. Standard classification of
soils for engineering purposes. ASTM Standard D2487-00.
Cowardin, L.M., V. Carter, F.C. Golet, and E.T. LaRoe. 1979. Classification of
wetlands and deep-water habitats of the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
FWS/OBS-79/31.
Federal Register. July 13, 1994. Changes in hydric soils of the United States.
Federal Register. September 18, 2002. Hydric soils of the United States.
Hurt, G.W., and L.M. Vasilas, editors. Version 6.0, 2006. Field indicators of hydric soils
in the United States.
National Research Council. 1995. Wetlands: Characteristics and boundaries.
Soil Survey Division Staff. 1993. Soil survey manual. Soil Conservation Service. U.S.
Department of Agriculture Handbook 18. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/
detail/national/soils/?cid=nrcs142p2_054262
Soil Survey Staff. 1999. Soil taxonomy: A basic system of soil classification for making
and interpreting soil surveys. 2nd edition. Natural Resources Conservation Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 436. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/
nrcs/detail/national/soils/?cid=nrcs142p2_053577
Soil Survey Staff. 2010. Keys to soil taxonomy. 11th edition. U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/
portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/?cid=nrcs142p2_053580
Tiner, R.W., Jr. 1985. Wetlands of Delaware. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Wetlands
Section.
United States Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Laboratory. 1987. Corps of
Engineers wetlands delineation manual. Waterways Experiment Station Technical
Report Y-87-1.
United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
National forestry manual. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/
home/?cid=nrcs142p2_053374
United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
National range and pasture handbook. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/
detail/national/landuse/rangepasture/?cid=stelprdb1043084

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United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
National soil survey handbook, title 430-VI. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/
nrcs/detail/soils/scientists/?cid=nrcs142p2_054242
United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
2006. Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States, the
Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 296.
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/?
cid=nrcs142p2_053624
United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1961. Land
capability classification. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 210. http://
www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_052290.pdf

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Glossary
Many of the terms relating to landforms, geology, and geomorphology are defined in
more detail in the National Soil Survey Handbook.
ABC soil
A soil having an A, a B, and a C horizon.
Ablation till
Loose, relatively permeable earthy material deposited during the downwasting of
nearly static glacial ice, either contained within or accumulated on the surface of
the glacier.
AC soil
A soil having only an A and a C horizon. Commonly, such soil formed in recent
alluvium or on steep, rocky slopes.
Aeration, soil
The exchange of air in soil with air from the atmosphere. The air in a well aerated
soil is similar to that in the atmosphere; the air in a poorly aerated soil is
considerably higher in carbon dioxide and lower in oxygen.
Aggregate, soil
Many fine particles held in a single mass or cluster. Natural soil aggregates, such
as granules, blocks, or prisms, are called peds. Clods are aggregates produced
by tillage or logging.
Alkali (sodic) soil
A soil having so high a degree of alkalinity (pH 8.5 or higher) or so high a
percentage of exchangeable sodium (15 percent or more of the total
exchangeable bases), or both, that plant growth is restricted.
Alluvial cone
A semiconical type of alluvial fan having very steep slopes. It is higher, narrower,
and steeper than a fan and is composed of coarser and thicker layers of material
deposited by a combination of alluvial episodes and (to a much lesser degree)
landslides (debris flow). The coarsest materials tend to be concentrated at the
apex of the cone.

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Alluvial fan
A low, outspread mass of loose materials and/or rock material, commonly with
gentle slopes. It is shaped like an open fan or a segment of a cone. The material
was deposited by a stream at the place where it issues from a narrow mountain
valley or upland valley or where a tributary stream is near or at its junction with
the main stream. The fan is steepest near its apex, which points upstream, and
slopes gently and convexly outward (downstream) with a gradual decrease in
gradient.
Alluvium
Unconsolidated material, such as gravel, sand, silt, clay, and various mixtures of
these, deposited on land by running water.
Alpha,alpha-dipyridyl
A compound that when dissolved in ammonium acetate is used to detect the
presence of reduced iron (Fe II) in the soil. A positive reaction implies reducing
conditions and the likely presence of redoximorphic features.
Animal unit month (AUM)
The amount of forage required by one mature cow of approximately 1,000 pounds
weight, with or without a calf, for 1 month.
Aquic conditions
Current soil wetness characterized by saturation, reduction, and redoximorphic
features.
Argillic horizon
A subsoil horizon characterized by an accumulation of illuvial clay.
Arroyo
The flat-floored channel of an ephemeral stream, commonly with very steep to
vertical banks cut in unconsolidated material. It is usually dry but can be
transformed into a temporary watercourse or short-lived torrent after heavy rain
within the watershed.
Aspect
The direction toward which a slope faces. Also called slope aspect.
Association, soil
A group of soils or miscellaneous areas geographically associated in a
characteristic repeating pattern and defined and delineated as a single map unit.
Available water capacity (available moisture capacity)
The capacity of soils to hold water available for use by most plants. It is commonly
defined as the difference between the amount of soil water at field moisture
capacity and the amount at wilting point. It is commonly expressed as inches of
water per inch of soil. The capacity, in inches, in a 60-inch profile or to a limiting
layer is expressed as:

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Very low: 0 to 3
Low: 3 to 6
Moderate: 6 to 9
High: 9 to 12
Very high: More than 12
Backslope
The position that forms the steepest and generally linear, middle portion of a
hillslope. In profile, backslopes are commonly bounded by a convex shoulder
above and a concave footslope below.
Backswamp
A flood-plain landform. Extensive, marshy or swampy, depressed areas of flood
plains between natural levees and valley sides or terraces.
Badland
A landscape that is intricately dissected and characterized by a very fine drainage
network with high drainage densities and short, steep slopes and narrow
interfluves. Badlands develop on surfaces that have little or no vegetative cover
overlying unconsolidated or poorly cemented materials (clays, silts, or
sandstones) with, in some cases, soluble minerals, such as gypsum or halite.
Bajada
A broad, gently inclined alluvial piedmont slope extending from the base of a
mountain range out into a basin and formed by the lateral coalescence of a series
of alluvial fans. Typically, it has a broadly undulating transverse profile, parallel to
the mountain front, resulting from the convexities of component fans. The term is
generally restricted to constructional slopes of intermontane basins.
Basal area
The area of a cross section of a tree, generally referring to the section at breast
height and measured outside the bark. It is a measure of stand density, commonly
expressed in square feet.
Base saturation
The degree to which material having cation-exchange properties is saturated with
exchangeable bases (sum of Ca, Mg, Na, and K), expressed as a percentage of
the total cation-exchange capacity.
Base slope (geomorphology)
A geomorphic component of hills consisting of the concave to linear
(perpendicular to the contour) slope that, regardless of the lateral shape, forms
an apron or wedge at the bottom of a hillside dominated by colluvium and slopewash sediments (for example, slope alluvium).
Bedding plane
A planar or nearly planar bedding surface that visibly separates each successive
layer of stratified sediment or rock (of the same or different lithology) from the
preceding or following layer; a plane of deposition. It commonly marks a change

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in the circumstances of deposition and may show a parting, a color difference, a
change in particle size, or various combinations of these. The term is commonly
applied to any bedding surface, even one that is conspicuously bent or deformed
by folding.
Bedding system
A drainage system made by plowing, grading, or otherwise shaping the surface
of a flat field. It consists of a series of low ridges separated by shallow, parallel
dead furrows.
Bedrock
The solid rock that underlies the soil and other unconsolidated material or that is
exposed at the surface.
Bedrock-controlled topography
A landscape where the configuration and relief of the landforms are determined
or strongly influenced by the underlying bedrock.
Bench terrace
A raised, level or nearly level strip of earth constructed on or nearly on a contour,
supported by a barrier of rocks or similar material, and designed to make the soil
suitable for tillage and to prevent accelerated erosion.
Bisequum
Two sequences of soil horizons, each of which consists of an illuvial horizon and
the overlying eluvial horizons.
Blowout (map symbol)
A saucer-, cup-, or trough-shaped depression formed by wind erosion on a
preexisting dune or other sand deposit, especially in an area of shifting sand or
loose soil or where protective vegetation is disturbed or destroyed. The adjoining
accumulation of sand derived from the depression, where recognizable, is
commonly included. Blowouts are commonly small.
Borrow pit (map symbol)
An open excavation from which soil and underlying material have been removed,
usually for construction purposes.
Bottom land
An informal term loosely applied to various portions of a flood plain.
Boulders
Rock fragments larger than 2 feet (60 centimeters) in diameter.
Breaks
A landscape or tract of steep, rough or broken land dissected by ravines and
gullies and marking a sudden change in topography.

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Breast height
An average height of 4.5 feet above the ground surface; the point on a tree where
diameter measurements are ordinarily taken.
Brush management
Use of mechanical, chemical, or biological methods to make conditions favorable
for reseeding or to reduce or eliminate competition from woody vegetation and
thus allow understory grasses and forbs to recover. Brush management increases
forage production and thus reduces the hazard of erosion. It can improve the
habitat for some species of wildlife.
Butte
An isolated, generally flat-topped hill or mountain with relatively steep slopes and
talus or precipitous cliffs and characterized by summit width that is less than the
height of bounding escarpments; commonly topped by a caprock of resistant
material and representing an erosion remnant carved from flat-lying rocks.
Cable yarding
A method of moving felled trees to a nearby central area for transport to a
processing facility. Most cable yarding systems involve use of a drum, a pole, and
wire cables in an arrangement similar to that of a rod and reel used for fishing. To
reduce friction and soil disturbance, felled trees generally are reeled in while one
end is lifted or the entire log is suspended.
Calcareous soil
A soil containing enough calcium carbonate (commonly combined with
magnesium carbonate) to effervesce visibly when treated with cold, dilute
hydrochloric acid.
Caliche
A general term for a prominent zone of secondary carbonate accumulation in
surficial materials in warm, subhumid to arid areas. Caliche is formed by both
geologic and pedologic processes. Finely crystalline calcium carbonate forms a
nearly continuous surface-coating and void-filling medium in geologic (parent)
materials. Cementation ranges from weak in nonindurated forms to very strong in
indurated forms. Other minerals (e.g., carbonates, silicate, and sulfate) may occur
as accessory cements. Most petrocalcic horizons and some calcic horizons are
caliche.
California bearing ratio (CBR)
The load-supporting capacity of a soil as compared to that of standard crushed
limestone, expressed as a ratio. First standardized in California. A soil having a
CBR of 16 supports 16 percent of the load that would be supported by standard
crushed limestone, per unit area, with the same degree of distortion.
Canopy
The leafy crown of trees or shrubs. (See Crown.)

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Canyon
A long, deep, narrow valley with high, precipitous walls in an area of high local
relief.
Capillary water
Water held as a film around soil particles and in tiny spaces between particles.
Surface tension is the adhesive force that holds capillary water in the soil.
Catena
A sequence, or chain, of soils on a landscape that formed in similar kinds of
parent material and under similar climatic conditions but that have different
characteristics as a result of differences in relief and drainage.
Cation
An ion carrying a positive charge of electricity. The common soil cations are
calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and hydrogen.
Cation-exchange capacity
The total amount of exchangeable cations that can be held by the soil, expressed
in terms of milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil at neutrality (pH 7.0) or at some
other stated pH value. The term, as applied to soils, is synonymous with baseexchange capacity but is more precise in meaning.
Catsteps
See Terracettes.
Cement rock
Shaly limestone used in the manufacture of cement.
Channery soil material
Soil material that has, by volume, 15 to 35 percent thin, flat fragments of
sandstone, shale, slate, limestone, or schist as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters)
along the longest axis. A single piece is called a channer.
Chemical treatment
Control of unwanted vegetation through the use of chemicals.
Chiseling
Tillage with an implement having one or more soil-penetrating points that shatter
or loosen hard, compacted layers to a depth below normal plow depth.
Cirque
A steep-walled, semicircular or crescent-shaped, half-bowl-like recess or hollow,
commonly situated at the head of a glaciated mountain valley or high on the side
of a mountain. It was produced by the erosive activity of a mountain glacier. It
commonly contains a small round lake (tarn).

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Clay
As a soil separate, the mineral soil particles less than 0.002 millimeter in diameter.
As a soil textural class, soil material that is 40 percent or more clay, less than 45
percent sand, and less than 40 percent silt.
Clay depletions
See Redoximorphic features.
Clay film
A thin coating of oriented clay on the surface of a soil aggregate or lining pores or
root channels. Synonyms: clay coating, clay skin.
Clay spot (map symbol)
A spot where the surface texture is silty clay or clay in areas where the surface
layer of the soils in the surrounding map unit is sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or
coarser.
Claypan
A dense, compact subsoil layer that contains much more clay than the overlying
materials, from which it is separated by a sharply defined boundary. The layer
restricts the downward movement of water through the soil. A claypan is
commonly hard when dry and plastic and sticky when wet.
Climax plant community
The stabilized plant community on a particular site. The plant cover reproduces
itself and does not change so long as the environment remains the same.
Coarse textured soil
Sand or loamy sand.
Cobble (or cobblestone)
A rounded or partly rounded fragment of rock 3 to 10 inches (7.6 to 25 centimeters)
in diameter.
Cobbly soil material
Material that has 15 to 35 percent, by volume, rounded or partially rounded rock
fragments 3 to 10 inches (7.6 to 25 centimeters) in diameter. Very cobbly soil
material has 35 to 60 percent of these rock fragments, and extremely cobbly soil
material has more than 60 percent.
COLE (coefficient of linear extensibility)
See Linear extensibility.
Colluvium
Unconsolidated, unsorted earth material being transported or deposited on side
slopes and/or at the base of slopes by mass movement (e.g., direct gravitational
action) and by local, unconcentrated runoff.

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Complex slope
Irregular or variable slope. Planning or establishing terraces, diversions, and other
water-control structures on a complex slope is difficult.
Complex, soil
A map unit of two or more kinds of soil or miscellaneous areas in such an intricate
pattern or so small in area that it is not practical to map them separately at the
selected scale of mapping. The pattern and proportion of the soils or
miscellaneous areas are somewhat similar in all areas.
Concretions
See Redoximorphic features.
Conglomerate
A coarse grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of rounded or subangular
rock fragments more than 2 millimeters in diameter. It commonly has a matrix of
sand and finer textured material. Conglomerate is the consolidated equivalent of
gravel.
Conservation cropping system
Growing crops in combination with needed cultural and management practices.
In a good conservation cropping system, the soil-improving crops and practices
more than offset the effects of the soil-depleting crops and practices. Cropping
systems are needed on all tilled soils. Soil-improving practices in a conservation
cropping system include the use of rotations that contain grasses and legumes
and the return of crop residue to the soil. Other practices include the use of green
manure crops of grasses and legumes, proper tillage, adequate fertilization, and
weed and pest control.
Conservation tillage
A tillage system that does not invert the soil and that leaves a protective amount
of crop residue on the surface throughout the year.
Consistence, soil
Refers to the degree of cohesion and adhesion of soil material and its resistance
to deformation when ruptured. Consistence includes resistance of soil material to
rupture and to penetration; plasticity, toughness, and stickiness of puddled soil
material; and the manner in which the soil material behaves when subject to
compression. Terms describing consistence are defined in the Soil Survey
Manual.
Contour stripcropping
Growing crops in strips that follow the contour. Strips of grass or close-growing
crops are alternated with strips of clean-tilled crops or summer fallow.
Control section
The part of the soil on which classification is based. The thickness varies among
different kinds of soil, but for many it is that part of the soil profile between depths
of 10 inches and 40 or 80 inches.

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Coprogenous earth (sedimentary peat)

A type of limnic layer composed predominantly of fecal material derived from
aquatic animals.
Corrosion (geomorphology)
A process of erosion whereby rocks and soil are removed or worn away by natural
chemical processes, especially by the solvent action of running water, but also by
other reactions, such as hydrolysis, hydration, carbonation, and oxidation.
Corrosion (soil survey interpretations)
Soil-induced electrochemical or chemical action that dissolves or weakens
concrete or uncoated steel.
Cover crop
A close-growing crop grown primarily to improve and protect the soil between
periods of regular crop production, or a crop grown between trees and vines in
orchards and vineyards.
Crop residue management
Returning crop residue to the soil, which helps to maintain soil structure, organic
matter content, and fertility and helps to control erosion.
Cropping system
Growing crops according to a planned system of rotation and management
practices.
Cross-slope farming
Deliberately conducting farming operations on sloping farmland in such a way that
tillage is across the general slope.
Crown
The upper part of a tree or shrub, including the living branches and their foliage.
Cryoturbate
A mass of soil or other unconsolidated earthy material moved or disturbed by frost
action. It is typically coarser than the underlying material.
Cuesta
An asymmetric ridge capped by resistant rock layers of slight or moderate dip
(commonly less than 15 percent slopes); a type of homocline produced by
differential erosion of interbedded resistant and weak rocks. A cuesta has a long,
gentle slope on one side (dip slope) that roughly parallels the inclined beds; on
the other side, it has a relatively short and steep or clifflike slope (scarp) that cuts
through the tilted rocks.
Culmination of the mean annual increment (CMAI)
The average annual increase per acre in the volume of a stand. Computed by
dividing the total volume of the stand by its age. As the stand increases in age,

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the mean annual increment continues to increase until mortality begins to reduce
the rate of increase. The point where the stand reaches its maximum annual rate
of growth is called the culmination of the mean annual increment.
Cutbanks cave
The walls of excavations tend to cave in or slough.
Decreasers
The most heavily grazed climax range plants. Because they are the most
palatable, they are the first to be destroyed by overgrazing.
Deferred grazing
Postponing grazing or resting grazing land for a prescribed period.
Delta
A body of alluvium having a surface that is fan shaped and nearly flat; deposited
at or near the mouth of a river or stream where it enters a body of relatively quiet
water, generally a sea or lake.
Dense layer
A very firm, massive layer that has a bulk density of more than 1.8 grams per cubic
centimeter. Such a layer affects the ease of digging and can affect filling and
compacting.
Depression, closed (map symbol)
A shallow, saucer-shaped area that is slightly lower on the landscape than the
surrounding area and that does not have a natural outlet for surface drainage.
Depth, soil
Generally, the thickness of the soil over bedrock. Very deep soils are more than
60 inches deep over bedrock; deep soils, 40 to 60 inches; moderately deep, 20
to 40 inches; shallow, 10 to 20 inches; and very shallow, less than 10 inches.
Desert pavement
A natural, residual concentration or layer of wind-polished, closely packed gravel,
boulders, and other rock fragments mantling a desert surface. It forms where wind
action and sheetwash have removed all smaller particles or where rock fragments
have migrated upward through sediments to the surface. It typically protects the
finer grained underlying material from further erosion.
Diatomaceous earth
A geologic deposit of fine, grayish siliceous material composed chiefly or entirely
of the remains of diatoms.
Dip slope
A slope of the land surface, roughly determined by and approximately conforming
to the dip of the underlying bedrock.

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Diversion (or diversion terrace)

A ridge of earth, generally a terrace, built to protect downslope areas by diverting
runoff from its natural course.
Divided-slope farming
A form of field stripcropping in which crops are grown in a systematic arrangement
of two strips, or bands, across the slope to reduce the hazard of water erosion.
One strip is in a close-growing crop that provides protection from erosion, and the
other strip is in a crop that provides less protection from erosion. This practice is
used where slopes are not long enough to permit a full stripcropping pattern to be
used.
Drainage class (natural)
Refers to the frequency and duration of wet periods under conditions similar to
those under which the soil formed. Alterations of the water regime by human
activities, either through drainage or irrigation, are not a consideration unless they
have significantly changed the morphology of the soil. Seven classes of natural
soil drainage are recognizedexcessively drained, somewhat excessively
drained, well drained, moderately well drained, somewhat poorly drained, poorly
drained, and very poorly drained. These classes are defined in the Soil Survey
Manual.
Drainage, surface
Runoff, or surface flow of water, from an area.
Drainageway
A general term for a course or channel along which water moves in draining an
area. A term restricted to relatively small, linear depressions that at some time
move concentrated water and either do not have a defined channel or have only
a small defined channel.
Draw
A small stream valley that generally is shallower and more open than a ravine or
gulch and that has a broader bottom. The present stream channel may appear
inadequate to have cut the drainageway that it occupies.
Drift
A general term applied to all mineral material (clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders)
transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice or transported
by running water emanating from a glacier. Drift includes unstratified material (till)
that forms moraines and stratified deposits that form outwash plains, eskers,
kames, varves, and glaciofluvial sediments. The term is generally applied to
Pleistocene glacial deposits in areas that no longer contain glaciers.
Drumlin
A low, smooth, elongated oval hill, mound, or ridge of compact till that has a core
of bedrock or drift. It commonly has a blunt nose facing the direction from which
the ice approached and a gentler slope tapering in the other direction. The longer
axis is parallel to the general direction of glacier flow. Drumlins are products of

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streamline (laminar) flow of glaciers, which molded the subglacial floor through a
combination of erosion and deposition.
Duff
A generally firm organic layer on the surface of mineral soils. It consists of fallen
plant material that is in the process of decomposition and includes everything from
the litter on the surface to underlying pure humus.
Dune
A low mound, ridge, bank, or hill of loose, windblown granular material (generally
sand), either barren and capable of movement from place to place or covered and
stabilized with vegetation but retaining its characteristic shape.
Earthy fill
See Mine spoil.
Ecological site
An area where climate, soil, and relief are sufficiently uniform to produce a distinct
natural plant community. An ecological site is the product of all the environmental
factors responsible for its development. It is typified by an association of species
that differ from those on other ecological sites in kind and/or proportion of species
or in total production.
Eluviation
The movement of material in true solution or colloidal suspension from one place
to another within the soil. Soil horizons that have lost material through eluviation
are eluvial; those that have received material are illuvial.
Endosaturation
A type of saturation of the soil in which all horizons between the upper boundary
of saturation and a depth of 2 meters are saturated.
Eolian deposit
Sand-, silt-, or clay-sized clastic material transported and deposited primarily by
wind, commonly in the form of a dune or a sheet of sand or loess.
Ephemeral stream
A stream, or reach of a stream, that flows only in direct response to precipitation.
It receives no long-continued supply from melting snow or other source, and its
channel is above the water table at all times.
Episaturation
A type of saturation indicating a perched water table in a soil in which saturated
layers are underlain by one or more unsaturated layers within 2 meters of the
surface.
Erosion
The wearing away of the land surface by water, wind, ice, or other geologic agents
and by such processes as gravitational creep.

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Erosion (accelerated)
Erosion much more rapid than geologic erosion, mainly as a result of human or
animal activities or of a catastrophe in nature, such as a fire, that exposes the
surface.
Erosion (geologic)
Erosion caused by geologic processes acting over long geologic periods and
resulting in the wearing away of mountains and the building up of such landscape
features as flood plains and coastal plains. Synonym: natural erosion.
Erosion pavement
A surficial lag concentration or layer of gravel and other rock fragments that
remains on the soil surface after sheet or rill erosion or wind has removed the finer
soil particles and that tends to protect the underlying soil from further erosion.
Erosion surface
A land surface shaped by the action of erosion, especially by running water.
Escarpment
A relatively continuous and steep slope or cliff breaking the general continuity of
more gently sloping land surfaces and resulting from erosion or faulting. Most
commonly applied to cliffs produced by differential erosion. Synonym: scarp.
Escarpment, bedrock (map symbol)
A relatively continuous and steep slope or cliff, produced by erosion or faulting,
that breaks the general continuity of more gently sloping land surfaces. Exposed
material is hard or soft bedrock.
Escarpment, nonbedrock (map symbol)
A relatively continuous and steep slope or cliff, generally produced by erosion but
in some places produced by faulting, that breaks the continuity of more gently
sloping land surfaces. Exposed earthy material is nonsoil or very shallow soil.
Esker
A long, narrow, sinuous, steep-sided ridge of stratified sand and gravel deposited
as the bed of a stream flowing in an ice tunnel within or below the ice (subglacial)
or between ice walls on top of the ice of a wasting glacier and left behind as high
ground when the ice melted. Eskers range in length from less than a kilometer to
more than 160 kilometers and in height from 3 to 30 meters.
Extrusive rock
Igneous rock derived from deep-seated molten matter (magma) deposited and
cooled on the earths surface.
Fallow
Cropland left idle in order to restore productivity through accumulation of moisture.
Summer fallow is common in regions of limited rainfall where cereal grain is grown.

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The soil is tilled for at least one growing season for weed control and
decomposition of plant residue.
Fan remnant
A general term for landforms that are the remaining parts of older fan landforms,
such as alluvial fans, that have been either dissected or partially buried.
Fertility, soil
The quality that enables a soil to provide plant nutrients, in adequate amounts and
in proper balance, for the growth of specified plants when light, moisture,
temperature, tilth, and other growth factors are favorable.
Fibric soil material (peat)
The least decomposed of all organic soil material. Peat contains a large amount
of well preserved fiber that is readily identifiable according to botanical origin. Peat
has the lowest bulk density and the highest water content at saturation of all
organic soil material.
Field moisture capacity
The moisture content of a soil, expressed as a percentage of the ovendry weight,
after the gravitational, or free, water has drained away; the field moisture content
2 or 3 days after a soaking rain; also called normal field capacity, normal moisture
capacity, or capillary capacity.
Fill slope
A sloping surface consisting of excavated soil material from a road cut. It
commonly is on the downhill side of the road.
Fine textured soil
Sandy clay, silty clay, or clay.
Firebreak
An area cleared of flammable material to stop or help control creeping or running
fires. It also serves as a line from which to work and to facilitate the movement of
firefighters and equipment. Designated roads also serve as firebreaks.
First bottom
An obsolete, informal term loosely applied to the lowest flood-plain steps that are
subject to regular flooding.
Flaggy soil material
Material that has, by volume, 15 to 35 percent flagstones. Very flaggy soil material
has 35 to 60 percent flagstones, and extremely flaggy soil material has more than
60 percent flagstones.
Flagstone
A thin fragment of sandstone, limestone, slate, shale, or (rarely) schist 6 to 15
inches (15 to 38 centimeters) long.

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Flood plain
The nearly level plain that borders a stream and is subject to flooding unless
protected artificially.
Flood-plain landforms
A variety of constructional and erosional features produced by stream channel
migration and flooding. Examples include backswamps, flood-plain splays,
meanders, meander belts, meander scrolls, oxbow lakes, and natural levees.
Flood-plain splay
A fan-shaped deposit or other outspread deposit formed where an overloaded
stream breaks through a levee (natural or artificial) and deposits its material
(commonly coarse grained) on the flood plain.
Flood-plain step
An essentially flat, terrace-like alluvial surface within a valley that is frequently
covered by floodwater from the present stream; any approximately horizontal
surface still actively modified by fluvial scour and/or deposition. May occur
individually or as a series of steps.
Fluvial
Of or pertaining to rivers or streams; produced by stream or river action.
Foothills
A region of steeply sloping hills that fringes a mountain range or high-plateau
escarpment. The hills have relief of as much as 1,000 feet (300 meters).
Footslope
The concave surface at the base of a hillslope. A footslope is a transition zone
between upslope sites of erosion and transport (shoulders and backslopes) and
downslope sites of deposition (toeslopes).
Forb
Any herbaceous plant not a grass or a sedge.
Forest cover
All trees and other woody plants (underbrush) covering the ground in a forest.
Forest type
A stand of trees similar in composition and development because of given physical
and biological factors by which it may be differentiated from other stands.
Fragipan
A loamy, brittle subsurface horizon low in porosity and content of organic matter
and low or moderate in clay but high in silt or very fine sand. A fragipan appears
cemented and restricts roots. When dry, it is hard or very hard and has a higher
bulk density than the horizon or horizons above. When moist, it tends to rupture
suddenly under pressure rather than to deform slowly.

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Genesis, soil
The mode of origin of the soil. Refers especially to the processes or soil-forming
factors responsible for the formation of the solum, or true soil, from the
unconsolidated parent material.
Gilgai
Commonly, a succession of microbasins and microknolls in nearly level areas or
of microvalleys and microridges parallel with the slope. Typically, the microrelief
of clayey soils that shrink and swell considerably with changes in moisture content.
Glaciofluvial deposits
Material moved by glaciers and subsequently sorted and deposited by streams
flowing from the melting ice. The deposits are stratified and occur in the form of
outwash plains, valley trains, deltas, kames, eskers, and kame terraces.
Glaciolacustrine deposits
Material ranging from fine clay to sand derived from glaciers and deposited in
glacial lakes mainly by glacial meltwater. Many deposits are bedded or laminated.
Gleyed soil
Soil that formed under poor drainage, resulting in the reduction of iron and other
elements in the profile and in gray colors.
Graded stripcropping
Growing crops in strips that grade toward a protected waterway.
Grassed waterway
A natural or constructed waterway, typically broad and shallow, seeded to grass
as protection against erosion. Conducts surface water away from cropland.
Gravel
Rounded or angular fragments of rock as much as 3 inches (2 millimeters to 7.6
centimeters) in diameter. An individual piece is a pebble.
Gravel pit (map symbol)
An open excavation from which soil and underlying material have been removed
and used, without crushing, as a source of sand or gravel.
Gravelly soil material
Material that has 15 to 35 percent, by volume, rounded or angular rock fragments,
not prominently flattened, as much as 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter.
Gravelly spot (map symbol)
A spot where the surface layer has more than 35 percent, by volume, rock
fragments that are mostly less than 3 inches in diameter in an area that has less
than 15 percent rock fragments.

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Green manure crop (agronomy)

A soil-improving crop grown to be plowed under in an early stage of maturity or
soon after maturity.
Ground water
Water filling all the unblocked pores of the material below the water table.
Gully (map symbol)
A small, steep-sided channel caused by erosion and cut in unconsolidated
materials by concentrated but intermittent flow of water. The distinction between
a gully and a rill is one of depth. A gully generally is an obstacle to farm machinery
and is too deep to be obliterated by ordinary tillage whereas a rill is of lesser depth
and can be smoothed over by ordinary tillage.
Hard bedrock
Bedrock that cannot be excavated except by blasting or by the use of special
equipment that is not commonly used in construction.
Hard to reclaim
Reclamation is difficult after the removal of soil for construction and other uses.
Revegetation and erosion control are extremely difficult.
Hardpan
A hardened or cemented soil horizon, or layer. The soil material is sandy, loamy,
or clayey and is cemented by iron oxide, silica, calcium carbonate, or other
substance.
Head slope (geomorphology)
A geomorphic component of hills consisting of a laterally concave area of a
hillside, especially at the head of a drainageway. The overland waterflow is
converging.
Hemic soil material (mucky peat)
Organic soil material intermediate in degree of decomposition between the less
decomposed fibric material and the more decomposed sapric material.
High-residue crops
Such crops as small grain and corn used for grain. If properly managed, residue
from these crops can be used to control erosion until the next crop in the rotation
is established. These crops return large amounts of organic matter to the soil.
Hill
A generic term for an elevated area of the land surface, rising as much as 1,000
feet above surrounding lowlands, commonly of limited summit area and having a
well defined outline. Slopes are generally more than 15 percent. The distinction
between a hill and a mountain is arbitrary and may depend on local usage.

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Hillslope
A generic term for the steeper part of a hill between its summit and the drainage
line, valley flat, or depression floor at the base of a hill.
Horizon, soil
A layer of soil, approximately parallel to the surface, having distinct characteristics
produced by soil-forming processes. In the identification of soil horizons, an
uppercase letter represents the major horizons. Numbers or lowercase letters that
follow represent subdivisions of the major horizons. An explanation of the
subdivisions is given in the Soil Survey Manual. The major horizons of mineral
soil are as follows:
O horizon: An organic layer of fresh and decaying plant residue.
L horizon: A layer of organic and mineral limnic materials, including coprogenous
earth (sedimentary peat), diatomaceous earth, and marl.
A horizon: The mineral horizon at or near the surface in which an accumulation
of humified organic matter is mixed with the mineral material. Also, a plowed
surface horizon, most of which was originally part of a B horizon.
E horizon: The mineral horizon in which the main feature is loss of silicate clay,
iron, aluminum, or some combination of these.
B horizon: The mineral horizon below an A horizon. The B horizon is in part a layer
of transition from the overlying A to the underlying C horizon. The B horizon also
has distinctive characteristics, such as (1) accumulation of clay, sesquioxides,
humus, or a combination of these; (2) prismatic or blocky structure; (3) redder or
browner colors than those in the A horizon; or (4) a combination of these.
C horizon: The mineral horizon or layer, excluding indurated bedrock, that is little
affected by soil-forming processes and does not have the properties typical of the
overlying soil material. The material of a C horizon may be either like or unlike that
in which the solum formed. If the material is known to differ from that in the solum,
an Arabic numeral, commonly a 2, precedes the letter C.
Cr horizon: Soft, consolidated bedrock beneath the soil.
R layer: Consolidated bedrock beneath the soil. The bedrock commonly underlies
a C horizon, but it can be directly below an A or a B horizon.
M layer: A root-limiting subsoil layer consisting of nearly continuous, horizontally
oriented, human-manufactured materials.
W layer: A layer of water within or beneath the soil.
Humus
The well decomposed, more or less stable part of the organic matter in mineral
soils.
Hydrologic soil groups
Refers to soils grouped according to their runoff potential. The soil properties that
influence this potential are those that affect the minimum rate of water infiltration
on a bare soil during periods after prolonged wetting when the soil is not frozen.
These properties include depth to a seasonal high water table, the infiltration rate,
and depth to a layer that significantly restricts the downward movement of water.
The slope and the kind of plant cover are not considered but are separate factors
in predicting runoff.

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Igneous rock
Rock that was formed by cooling and solidification of magma and that has not
been changed appreciably by weathering since its formation. Major varieties
include plutonic and volcanic rock (e.g., andesite, basalt, and granite).
Illuviation
The movement of soil material from one horizon to another in the soil profile.
Generally, material is removed from an upper horizon and deposited in a lower
horizon.
Impervious soil
A soil through which water, air, or roots penetrate slowly or not at all. No soil is
absolutely impervious to air and water all the time.
Increasers
Species in the climax vegetation that increase in amount as the more desirable
plants are reduced by close grazing. Increasers commonly are the shorter plants
and the less palatable to livestock.
Infiltration
The downward entry of water into the immediate surface of soil or other material,
as contrasted with percolation, which is movement of water through soil layers or
material.
Infiltration capacity
The maximum rate at which water can infiltrate into a soil under a given set of
conditions.
Infiltration rate
The rate at which water penetrates the surface of the soil at any given instant,
usually expressed in inches per hour. The rate can be limited by the infiltration
capacity of the soil or the rate at which water is applied at the surface.
Intake rate
The average rate of water entering the soil under irrigation. Most soils have a fast
initial rate; the rate decreases with application time. Therefore, intake rate for
design purposes is not a constant but is a variable depending on the net irrigation
application. The rate of water intake, in inches per hour, is expressed as follows:
Very low: Less than 0.2
Low: 0.2 to 0.4
Moderately low: 0.4 to 0.75
Moderate: 0.75 to 1.25
Moderately high: 1.25 to 1.75
High: 1.75 to 2.5
Very high: More than 2.5

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Interfluve
A landform composed of the relatively undissected upland or ridge between two
adjacent valleys containing streams flowing in the same general direction. An
elevated area between two drainageways that sheds water to those
drainageways.
Interfluve (geomorphology)
A geomorphic component of hills consisting of the uppermost, comparatively level
or gently sloping area of a hill; shoulders of backwearing hillslopes can narrow the
upland or can merge, resulting in a strongly convex shape.
Intermittent stream
A stream, or reach of a stream, that does not flow year-round but that is commonly
dry for 3 or more months out of 12 and whose channel is generally below the local
water table. It flows only during wet periods or when it receives ground-water
discharge or long, continued contributions from melting snow or other surface and
shallow subsurface sources.
Invaders
On range, plants that encroach into an area and grow after the climax vegetation
has been reduced by grazing. Generally, plants invade following disturbance of
the surface.
Iron depletions
See Redoximorphic features.
Irrigation
Application of water to soils to assist in production of crops. Methods of irrigation
are:
Basin: Water is applied rapidly to nearly level plains surrounded by levees or dikes.
Border: Water is applied at the upper end of a strip in which the lateral flow of
water is controlled by small earth ridges called border dikes, or borders.
Controlled flooding: Water is released at intervals from closely spaced field ditches
and distributed uniformly over the field.
Corrugation: Water is applied to small, closely spaced furrows or ditches in fields
of close-growing crops or in orchards so that it flows in only one direction.
Drip (or trickle): Water is applied slowly and under low pressure to the surface of
the soil or into the soil through such applicators as emitters, porous tubing, or
perforated pipe.
Furrow: Water is applied in small ditches made by cultivation implements. Furrows
are used for tree and row crops.
Sprinkler: Water is sprayed over the soil surface through pipes or nozzles from a
pressure system.
Subirrigation: Water is applied in open ditches or tile lines until the water table is
raised enough to wet the soil.
Wild flooding: Water, released at high points, is allowed to flow onto an area
without controlled distribution.

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Kame
A low mound, knob, hummock, or short irregular ridge composed of stratified sand
and gravel deposited by a subglacial stream as a fan or delta at the margin of a
melting glacier; by a supraglacial stream in a low place or hole on the surface of
the glacier; or as a ponded deposit on the surface or at the margin of stagnant ice.
Karst (topography)
A kind of topography that formed in limestone, gypsum, or other soluble rocks by
dissolution and that is characterized by closed depressions, sinkholes, caves, and
underground drainage.
Knoll
A small, low, rounded hill rising above adjacent landforms.
Ksat
See Saturated hydraulic conductivity.
Lacustrine deposit
Material deposited in lake water and exposed when the water level is lowered or
the elevation of the land is raised.
Lake plain
A nearly level surface marking the floor of an extinct lake filled by well sorted,
generally fine textured, stratified deposits, commonly containing varves.
Lake terrace
A narrow shelf, partly cut and partly built, produced along a lakeshore in front of
a scarp line of low cliffs and later exposed when the water level falls.
Landfill (map symbol)
An area of accumulated waste products of human habitation, either above or
below natural ground level.
Landslide
A general, encompassing term for most types of mass movement landforms and
processes involving the downslope transport and outward deposition of soil and
rock materials caused by gravitational forces; the movement may or may not
involve saturated materials. The speed and distance of movement, as well as the
amount of soil and rock material, vary greatly.
Large stones
Rock fragments 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) or more across. Large stones
adversely affect the specified use of the soil.
Lava flow (map symbol)
A solidified, commonly lobate body of rock formed through lateral, surface
outpouring of molten lava from a vent or fissure.

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Leaching
The removal of soluble material from soil or other material by percolating water.
Levee (map symbol)
An embankment that confines or controls water, especially one built along the
banks of a river to prevent overflow onto lowlands.
Linear extensibility
Refers to the change in length of an unconfined clod as moisture content is
decreased from a moist to a dry state. Linear extensibility is used to determine
the shrink-swell potential of soils. It is an expression of the volume change
between the water content of the clod at 1/3- or 1/10-bar tension (33kPa or 10kPa
tension) and oven dryness. Volume change is influenced by the amount and type
of clay minerals in the soil. The volume change is the percent change for the whole
soil. If it is expressed as a fraction, the resulting value is COLE, coefficient of linear
extensibility.
Liquid limit
The moisture content at which the soil passes from a plastic to a liquid state.
Loam
Soil material that is 7 to 27 percent clay particles, 28 to 50 percent silt particles,
and less than 52 percent sand particles.
Loess
Material transported and deposited by wind and consisting dominantly of silt-sized
particles.
Low strength
The soil is not strong enough to support loads.
Low-residue crops
Such crops as corn used for silage, peas, beans, and potatoes. Residue from
these crops is not adequate to control erosion until the next crop in the rotation is
established. These crops return little organic matter to the soil.
Marl
An earthy, unconsolidated deposit consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate mixed
with clay in approximately equal proportions; formed primarily under freshwater
lacustrine conditions but also formed in more saline environments.
Marsh or swamp (map symbol)
A water-saturated, very poorly drained area that is intermittently or permanently
covered by water. Sedges, cattails, and rushes are the dominant vegetation in
marshes, and trees or shrubs are the dominant vegetation in swamps. Not used
in map units where the named soils are poorly drained or very poorly drained.

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Mass movement
A generic term for the dislodgment and downslope transport of soil and rock
material as a unit under direct gravitational stress.
Masses
See Redoximorphic features.
Meander belt
The zone within which migration of a meandering channel occurs; the flood-plain
area included between two imaginary lines drawn tangential to the outer bends of
active channel loops.
Meander scar
A crescent-shaped, concave or linear mark on the face of a bluff or valley wall,
produced by the lateral erosion of a meandering stream that impinged upon and
undercut the bluff.
Meander scroll
One of a series of long, parallel, close-fitting, crescent-shaped ridges and troughs
formed along the inner bank of a stream meander as the channel migrated laterally
down-valley and toward the outer bank.
Mechanical treatment
Use of mechanical equipment for seeding, brush management, and other
management practices.
Medium textured soil
Very fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or silt.
Mesa
A broad, nearly flat topped and commonly isolated landmass bounded by steep
slopes or precipitous cliffs and capped by layers of resistant, nearly horizontal
rocky material. The summit width is characteristically greater than the height of
the bounding escarpments.
Metamorphic rock
Rock of any origin altered in mineralogical composition, chemical composition, or
structure by heat, pressure, and movement at depth in the earths crust. Nearly
all such rocks are crystalline.
Mine or quarry (map symbol)
An open excavation from which soil and underlying material have been removed
and in which bedrock is exposed. Also denotes surface openings to underground
mines.
Mine spoil
An accumulation of displaced earthy material, rock, or other waste material
removed during mining or excavation. Also called earthy fill.

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Mineral soil
Soil that is mainly mineral material and low in organic material. Its bulk density is
more than that of organic soil.
Minimum tillage
Only the tillage essential to crop production and prevention of soil damage.
Miscellaneous area
A kind of map unit that has little or no natural soil and supports little or no
vegetation.
Miscellaneous water (map symbol)
Small, constructed bodies of water that are used for industrial, sanitary, or mining
applications and that contain water most of the year.
Moderately coarse textured soil
Coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.
Moderately fine textured soil
Clay loam, sandy clay loam, or silty clay loam.
Mollic epipedon
A thick, dark, humus-rich surface horizon (or horizons) that has high base
saturation and pedogenic soil structure. It may include the upper part of the
subsoil.
Moraine
In terms of glacial geology, a mound, ridge, or other topographically distinct
accumulation of unsorted, unstratified drift, predominantly till, deposited primarily
by the direct action of glacial ice in a variety of landforms. Also, a general term for
a landform composed mainly of till (except for kame moraines, which are
composed mainly of stratified outwash) that has been deposited by a glacier.
Some types of moraines are disintegration, end, ground, kame, lateral,
recessional, and terminal.
Morphology, soil
The physical makeup of the soil, including the texture, structure, porosity,
consistence, color, and other physical, mineral, and biological properties of the
various horizons, and the thickness and arrangement of those horizons in the soil
profile.
Mottling, soil
Irregular spots of different colors that vary in number and size. Descriptive terms
are as follows: abundancefew, common, and many; sizefine, medium, and
coarse; and contrastfaint, distinct, and prominent. The size measurements are
of the diameter along the greatest dimension. Fine indicates less than 5
millimeters (about 0.2 inch); medium, from 5 to 15 millimeters (about 0.2 to 0.6
inch); and coarse, more than 15 millimeters (about 0.6 inch).

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Mountain
A generic term for an elevated area of the land surface, rising more than 1,000
feet (300 meters) above surrounding lowlands, commonly of restricted summit
area (relative to a plateau) and generally having steep sides. A mountain can
occur as a single, isolated mass or in a group forming a chain or range. Mountains
are formed primarily by tectonic activity and/or volcanic action but can also be
formed by differential erosion.
Muck
Dark, finely divided, well decomposed organic soil material. (See Sapric soil
material.)
Mucky peat
See Hemic soil material.
Mudstone
A blocky or massive, fine grained sedimentary rock in which the proportions of
clay and silt are approximately equal. Also, a general term for such material as
clay, silt, claystone, siltstone, shale, and argillite and that should be used only
when the amounts of clay and silt are not known or cannot be precisely identified.
Munsell notation
A designation of color by degrees of three simple variableshue, value, and
chroma. For example, a notation of 10YR 6/4 is a color with hue of 10YR, value
of 6, and chroma of 4.
Natric horizon
A special kind of argillic horizon that contains enough exchangeable sodium to
have an adverse effect on the physical condition of the subsoil.
Neutral soil
A soil having a pH value of 6.6 to 7.3. (See Reaction, soil.)
Nodules
See Redoximorphic features.
Nose slope (geomorphology)
A geomorphic component of hills consisting of the projecting end (laterally convex
area) of a hillside. The overland waterflow is predominantly divergent. Nose
slopes consist dominantly of colluvium and slope-wash sediments (for example,
slope alluvium).
Nutrient, plant
Any element taken in by a plant essential to its growth. Plant nutrients are mainly
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese,
copper, boron, and zinc obtained from the soil and carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
obtained from the air and water.

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Organic matter
Plant and animal residue in the soil in various stages of decomposition. The
content of organic matter in the surface layer is described as follows:
Very low: Less than 0.5 percent
Low: 0.5 to 1.0 percent
Moderately low: 1.0 to 2.0 percent
Moderate: 2.0 to 4.0 percent
High: 4.0 to 8.0 percent
Very high: More than 8.0 percent
Outwash
Stratified and sorted sediments (chiefly sand and gravel) removed or washed out
from a glacier by meltwater streams and deposited in front of or beyond the end
moraine or the margin of a glacier. The coarser material is deposited nearer to
the ice.
Outwash plain
An extensive lowland area of coarse textured glaciofluvial material. An outwash
plain is commonly smooth; where pitted, it generally is low in relief.
Paleoterrace
An erosional remnant of a terrace that retains the surface form and alluvial
deposits of its origin but was not emplaced by, and commonly does not grade to,
a present-day stream or drainage network.
Pan
A compact, dense layer in a soil that impedes the movement of water and the
growth of roots. For example, hardpan, fragipan, claypan, plowpan, and traffic
pan.
Parent material
The unconsolidated organic and mineral material in which soil forms.
Peat
Unconsolidated material, largely undecomposed organic matter, that has
accumulated under excess moisture. (See Fibric soil material.)
Ped
An individual natural soil aggregate, such as a granule, a prism, or a block.
Pedisediment
A layer of sediment, eroded from the shoulder and backslope of an erosional
slope, that lies on and is being (or was) transported across a gently sloping
erosional surface at the foot of a receding hill or mountain slope.

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Pedon
The smallest volume that can be called a soil. A pedon is three dimensional and
large enough to permit study of all horizons. Its area ranges from about 10 to 100
square feet (1 square meter to 10 square meters), depending on the variability of
the soil.
Percolation
The movement of water through the soil.
Perennial water (map symbol)
Small, natural or constructed lakes, ponds, or pits that contain water most of the
year.
Permafrost
Ground, soil, or rock that remains at or below 0 degrees C for at least 2 years. It
is defined on the basis of temperature and is not necessarily frozen.
pH value
A numerical designation of acidity and alkalinity in soil. (See Reaction, soil.)
Phase, soil
A subdivision of a soil series based on features that affect its use and
management, such as slope, stoniness, and flooding.
Piping
Formation of subsurface tunnels or pipelike cavities by water moving through the
soil.
Pitting
Pits caused by melting around ice. They form on the soil after plant cover is
removed.
Plastic limit
The moisture content at which a soil changes from semisolid to plastic.
Plasticity index
The numerical difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit; the range
of moisture content within which the soil remains plastic.
Plateau (geomorphology)
A comparatively flat area of great extent and elevation; specifically, an extensive
land region that is considerably elevated (more than 100 meters) above the
adjacent lower lying terrain, is commonly limited on at least one side by an abrupt
descent, and has a flat or nearly level surface. A comparatively large part of a
plateau surface is near summit level.

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Playa
The generally dry and nearly level lake plain that occupies the lowest parts of
closed depressions, such as those on intermontane basin floors. Temporary
flooding occurs primarily in response to precipitation and runoff. Playa deposits
are fine grained and may or may not have a high water table and saline conditions.
Plinthite
The sesquioxide-rich, humus-poor, highly weathered mixture of clay with quartz
and other diluents. It commonly appears as red mottles, usually in platy, polygonal,
or reticulate patterns. Plinthite changes irreversibly to an ironstone hardpan or to
irregular aggregates on repeated wetting and drying, especially if it is exposed
also to heat from the sun. In a moist soil, plinthite can be cut with a spade. It is a
form of laterite.
Plowpan
A compacted layer formed in the soil directly below the plowed layer.
Ponding
Standing water on soils in closed depressions. Unless the soils are artificially
drained, the water can be removed only by percolation or evapotranspiration.
Poorly graded
Refers to a coarse grained soil or soil material consisting mainly of particles of
nearly the same size. Because there is little difference in size of the particles,
density can be increased only slightly by compaction.
Pore linings
See Redoximorphic features.
Potential native plant community
See Climax plant community.
Potential rooting depth (effective rooting depth)
Depth to which roots could penetrate if the content of moisture in the soil were
adequate. The soil has no properties restricting the penetration of roots to this
depth.
Prescribed burning
Deliberately burning an area for specific management purposes, under the
appropriate conditions of weather and soil moisture and at the proper time of day.
Productivity, soil
The capability of a soil for producing a specified plant or sequence of plants under
specific management.
Profile, soil
A vertical section of the soil extending through all its horizons and into the parent
material.

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Proper grazing use

Grazing at an intensity that maintains enough cover to protect the soil and maintain
or improve the quantity and quality of the desirable vegetation. This practice
increases the vigor and reproduction capacity of the key plants and promotes the
accumulation of litter and mulch necessary to conserve soil and water.
Rangeland
Land on which the potential natural vegetation is predominantly grasses, grasslike
plants, forbs, or shrubs suitable for grazing or browsing. It includes natural
grasslands, savannas, many wetlands, some deserts, tundras, and areas that
support certain forb and shrub communities.
Reaction, soil
A measure of acidity or alkalinity of a soil, expressed as pH values. A soil that
tests to pH 7.0 is described as precisely neutral in reaction because it is neither
acid nor alkaline. The degrees of acidity or alkalinity, expressed as pH values,
are:
Ultra acid: Less than 3.5
Extremely acid: 3.5 to 4.4
Very strongly acid: 4.5 to 5.0
Strongly acid: 5.1 to 5.5
Moderately acid: 5.6 to 6.0
Slightly acid: 6.1 to 6.5
Neutral: 6.6 to 7.3
Slightly alkaline: 7.4 to 7.8
Moderately alkaline: 7.9 to 8.4
Strongly alkaline: 8.5 to 9.0
Very strongly alkaline: 9.1 and higher
Red beds
Sedimentary strata that are mainly red and are made up largely of sandstone and
shale.
Redoximorphic concentrations
See Redoximorphic features.
Redoximorphic depletions
See Redoximorphic features.
Redoximorphic features
Redoximorphic features are associated with wetness and result from alternating
periods of reduction and oxidation of iron and manganese compounds in the soil.
Reduction occurs during saturation with water, and oxidation occurs when the soil
is not saturated. Characteristic color patterns are created by these processes. The
reduced iron and manganese ions may be removed from a soil if vertical or lateral
fluxes of water occur, in which case there is no iron or manganese precipitation
in that soil. Wherever the iron and manganese are oxidized and precipitated, they

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form either soft masses or hard concretions or nodules. Movement of iron and
manganese as a result of redoximorphic processes in a soil may result in
redoximorphic features that are defined as follows:
1. Redoximorphic concentrations.These are zones of apparent accumulation
of iron-manganese oxides, including:
A. Nodules and concretions, which are cemented bodies that can be
removed from the soil intact. Concretions are distinguished from nodules
on the basis of internal organization. A concretion typically has
concentric layers that are visible to the naked eye. Nodules do not have
visible organized internal structure; and
B. Masses, which are noncemented concentrations of substances within
the soil matrix; and
C. Pore linings, i.e., zones of accumulation along pores that may be either
coatings on pore surfaces or impregnations from the matrix adjacent to
the pores.
2. Redoximorphic depletions.These are zones of low chroma (chromas less
than those in the matrix) where either iron-manganese oxides alone or both
iron-manganese oxides and clay have been stripped out, including:
A. Iron depletions, i.e., zones that contain low amounts of iron and
manganese oxides but have a clay content similar to that of the adjacent
matrix; and
B. Clay depletions, i.e., zones that contain low amounts of iron,
manganese, and clay (often referred to as silt coatings or skeletans).
3. Reduced matrix.This is a soil matrix that has low chroma in situ but
undergoes a change in hue or chroma within 30 minutes after the soil material
has been exposed to air.
Reduced matrix
See Redoximorphic features.
Regolith
All unconsolidated earth materials above the solid bedrock. It includes material
weathered in place from all kinds of bedrock and alluvial, glacial, eolian, lacustrine,
and pyroclastic deposits.
Relief
The relative difference in elevation between the upland summits and the lowlands
or valleys of a given region.
Residuum (residual soil material)
Unconsolidated, weathered or partly weathered mineral material that
accumulated as bedrock disintegrated in place.
Rill
A very small, steep-sided channel resulting from erosion and cut in unconsolidated
materials by concentrated but intermittent flow of water. A rill generally is not an
obstacle to wheeled vehicles and is shallow enough to be smoothed over by
ordinary tillage.

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Riser
The vertical or steep side slope (e.g., escarpment) of terraces, flood-plain steps,
or other stepped landforms; commonly a recurring part of a series of natural,
steplike landforms, such as successive stream terraces.
Road cut
A sloping surface produced by mechanical means during road construction. It is
commonly on the uphill side of the road.
Rock fragments
Rock or mineral fragments having a diameter of 2 millimeters or more; for
example, pebbles, cobbles, stones, and boulders.
Rock outcrop (map symbol)
An exposure of bedrock at the surface of the earth. Not used where the named
soils of the surrounding map unit are shallow over bedrock or where Rock
outcrop is a named component of the map unit.
Root zone
The part of the soil that can be penetrated by plant roots.
Runoff
The precipitation discharged into stream channels from an area. The water that
flows off the surface of the land without sinking into the soil is called surface runoff.
Water that enters the soil before reaching surface streams is called ground-water
runoff or seepage flow from ground water.
Saline soil
A soil containing soluble salts in an amount that impairs growth of plants. A saline
soil does not contain excess exchangeable sodium.
Saline spot (map symbol)
An area where the surface layer has an electrical conductivity of 8 mmhos/cm
more than the surface layer of the named soils in the surrounding map unit. The
surface layer of the surrounding soils has an electrical conductivity of 2 mmhos/
cm or less.
Sand
As a soil separate, individual rock or mineral fragments from 0.05 millimeter to 2.0
millimeters in diameter. Most sand grains consist of quartz. As a soil textural class,
a soil that is 85 percent or more sand and not more than 10 percent clay.
Sandstone
Sedimentary rock containing dominantly sand-sized particles.

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Sandy spot (map symbol)

A spot where the surface layer is loamy fine sand or coarser in areas where the
surface layer of the named soils in the surrounding map unit is very fine sandy
loam or finer.
Sapric soil material (muck)
The most highly decomposed of all organic soil material. Muck has the least
amount of plant fiber, the highest bulk density, and the lowest water content at
saturation of all organic soil material.
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)
The ease with which pores of a saturated soil transmit water. Formally, the
proportionality coefficient that expresses the relationship of the rate of water
movement to hydraulic gradient in Darcys Law, a law that describes the rate of
water movement through porous media. Commonly abbreviated as Ksat. Terms
describing saturated hydraulic conductivity are:
Very high: 100 or more micrometers per second (14.17 or more inches per hour)
High: 10 to 100 micrometers per second (1.417 to 14.17 inches per hour)
Moderately high: 1 to 10 micrometers per second (0.1417 inch to 1.417 inches
per hour)
Moderately low: 0.1 to 1 micrometer per second (0.01417 to 0.1417 inch per hour)
Low: 0.01 to 0.1 micrometer per second (0.001417 to 0.01417 inch per hour)
Very low: Less than 0.01 micrometer per second (less than 0.001417 inch per
hour).
To convert inches per hour to micrometers per second, multiply inches per hour
by 7.0572. To convert micrometers per second to inches per hour, multiply
micrometers per second by 0.1417.
Saturation
Wetness characterized by zero or positive pressure of the soil water. Under
conditions of saturation, the water will flow from the soil matrix into an unlined
auger hole.
Scarification
The act of abrading, scratching, loosening, crushing, or modifying the surface to
increase water absorption or to provide a more tillable soil.
Sedimentary rock
A consolidated deposit of clastic particles, chemical precipitates, or organic
remains accumulated at or near the surface of the earth under normal low
temperature and pressure conditions. Sedimentary rocks include consolidated
equivalents of alluvium, colluvium, drift, and eolian, lacustrine, and marine
deposits. Examples are sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, claystone, shale,
conglomerate, limestone, dolomite, and coal.
Sequum
A sequence consisting of an illuvial horizon and the overlying eluvial horizon. (See
Eluviation.)

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Series, soil
A group of soils that have profiles that are almost alike, except for differences in
texture of the surface layer. All the soils of a series have horizons that are similar
in composition, thickness, and arrangement.
Severely eroded spot (map symbol)
An area where, on the average, 75 percent or more of the original surface layer
has been lost because of accelerated erosion. Not used in map units in which
severely eroded, very severely eroded, or gullied is part of the map unit name.
Shale
Sedimentary rock that formed by the hardening of a deposit of clay, silty clay, or
silty clay loam and that has a tendency to split into thin layers.
Sheet erosion
The removal of a fairly uniform layer of soil material from the land surface by the
action of rainfall and surface runoff.
Short, steep slope (map symbol)
A narrow area of soil having slopes that are at least two slope classes steeper
than the slope class of the surrounding map unit.
Shoulder
The convex, erosional surface near the top of a hillslope. A shoulder is a transition
from summit to backslope.
Shrink-swell
The shrinking of soil when dry and the swelling when wet. Shrinking and swelling
can damage roads, dams, building foundations, and other structures. It can also
damage plant roots.
Shrub-coppice dune
A small, streamlined dune that forms around brush and clump vegetation.
Side slope (geomorphology)
A geomorphic component of hills consisting of a laterally planar area of a hillside.
The overland waterflow is predominantly parallel. Side slopes are dominantly
colluvium and slope-wash sediments.
Silica
A combination of silicon and oxygen. The mineral form is called quartz.
Silica-sesquioxide ratio
The ratio of the number of molecules of silica to the number of molecules of
alumina and iron oxide. The more highly weathered soils or their clay fractions in
warm-temperate, humid regions, and especially those in the tropics, generally
have a low ratio.

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Silt
As a soil separate, individual mineral particles that range in diameter from the
upper limit of clay (0.002 millimeter) to the lower limit of very fine sand (0.05
millimeter). As a soil textural class, soil that is 80 percent or more silt and less
than 12 percent clay.
Siltstone
An indurated silt having the texture and composition of shale but lacking its fine
lamination or fissility; a massive mudstone in which silt predominates over clay.
Similar soils
Soils that share limits of diagnostic criteria, behave and perform in a similar
manner, and have similar conservation needs or management requirements for
the major land uses in the survey area.
Sinkhole (map symbol)
A closed, circular or elliptical depression, commonly funnel shaped, characterized
by subsurface drainage and formed either by dissolution of the surface of
underlying bedrock (e.g., limestone, gypsum, or salt) or by collapse of underlying
caves within bedrock. Complexes of sinkholes in carbonate-rock terrain are the
main components of karst topography.
Site index
A designation of the quality of a forest site based on the height of the dominant
stand at an arbitrarily chosen age. For example, if the average height attained by
dominant and codominant trees in a fully stocked stand at the age of 50 years is
75 feet, the site index is 75.
Slickensides (pedogenic)
Grooved, striated, and/or glossy (shiny) slip faces on structural peds, such as
wedges; produced by shrink-swell processes, most commonly in soils that have
a high content of expansive clays.
Slide or slip (map symbol)
A prominent landform scar or ridge caused by fairly recent mass movement or
descent of earthy material resulting from failure of earth or rock under shear stress
along one or several surfaces.
Slope
The inclination of the land surface from the horizontal. Percentage of slope is the
vertical distance divided by horizontal distance, then multiplied by 100. Thus, a
slope of 20 percent is a drop of 20 feet in 100 feet of horizontal distance.
Slope alluvium
Sediment gradually transported down the slopes of mountains or hills primarily by
nonchannel alluvial processes (i.e., slope-wash processes) and characterized by
particle sorting. Lateral particle sorting is evident on long slopes. In a profile
sequence, sediments may be distinguished by differences in size and/or specific
gravity of rock fragments and may be separated by stone lines. Burnished peds

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and sorting of rounded or subrounded pebbles or cobbles distinguish these
materials from unsorted colluvial deposits.
Slow refill
The slow filling of ponds, resulting from restricted water transmission in the soil.
Slow water movement
Restricted downward movement of water through the soil. See Saturated
hydraulic conductivity.
Sodic (alkali) soil
A soil having so high a degree of alkalinity (pH 8.5 or higher) or so high a
percentage of exchangeable sodium (15 percent or more of the total
exchangeable bases), or both, that plant growth is restricted.
Sodic spot (map symbol)
An area where the surface layer has a sodium adsorption ratio that is at least 10
more than that of the surface layer of the named soils in the surrounding map unit.
The surface layer of the surrounding soils has a sodium adsorption ratio of 5 or
less.
Sodicity
The degree to which a soil is affected by exchangeable sodium. Sodicity is
expressed as a sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of a saturation extract, or the ratio
of Na+ to Ca++ + Mg++. The degrees of sodicity and their respective ratios are:
Slight: Less than 13:1
Moderate: 13-30:1
Strong: More than 30:1
Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR)
A measure of the amount of sodium (Na) relative to calcium (Ca) and magnesium
(Mg) in the water extract from saturated soil paste. It is the ratio of the Na
concentration divided by the square root of one-half of the Ca + Mg concentration.
Soft bedrock
Bedrock that can be excavated with trenching machines, backhoes, small rippers,
and other equipment commonly used in construction.
Soil
A natural, three-dimensional body at the earths surface. It is capable of supporting
plants and has properties resulting from the integrated effect of climate and living
matter acting on earthy parent material, as conditioned by relief and by the
passage of time.
Soil separates
Mineral particles less than 2 millimeters in equivalent diameter and ranging
between specified size limits. The names and sizes, in millimeters, of separates
recognized in the United States are as follows:

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Very coarse sand: 2.0 to 1.0
Coarse sand: 1.0 to 0.5
Medium sand: 0.5 to 0.25
Fine sand: 0.25 to 0.10
Very fine sand: 0.10 to 0.05
Silt: 0.05 to 0.002
Clay: Less than 0.002
Solum
The upper part of a soil profile, above the C horizon, in which the processes of
soil formation are active. The solum in soil consists of the A, E, and B horizons.
Generally, the characteristics of the material in these horizons are unlike those of
the material below the solum. The living roots and plant and animal activities are
largely confined to the solum.
Spoil area (map symbol)
A pile of earthy materials, either smoothed or uneven, resulting from human
activity.
Stone line
In a vertical cross section, a line formed by scattered fragments or a discrete layer
of angular and subangular rock fragments (commonly a gravel- or cobble-sized
lag concentration) that formerly was draped across a topographic surface and was
later buried by additional sediments. A stone line generally caps material that was
subject to weathering, soil formation, and erosion before burial. Many stone lines
seem to be buried erosion pavements, originally formed by sheet and rill erosion
across the land surface.
Stones
Rock fragments 10 to 24 inches (25 to 60 centimeters) in diameter if rounded or
15 to 24 inches (38 to 60 centimeters) in length if flat.
Stony
Refers to a soil containing stones in numbers that interfere with or prevent tillage.
Stony spot (map symbol)
A spot where 0.01 to 0.1 percent of the soil surface is covered by rock fragments
that are more than 10 inches in diameter in areas where the surrounding soil has
no surface stones.
Strath terrace
A type of stream terrace; formed as an erosional surface cut on bedrock and thinly
mantled with stream deposits (alluvium).
Stream terrace
One of a series of platforms in a stream valley, flanking and more or less parallel
to the stream channel, originally formed near the level of the stream; represents

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the remnants of an abandoned flood plain, stream bed, or valley floor produced
during a former state of fluvial erosion or deposition.
Stripcropping
Growing crops in a systematic arrangement of strips or bands that provide
vegetative barriers to wind erosion and water erosion.
Structure, soil
The arrangement of primary soil particles into compound particles or aggregates.
The principal forms of soil structure are:
Platy: Flat and laminated
Prismatic: Vertically elongated and having flat tops
Columnar: Vertically elongated and having rounded tops
Angular blocky: Having faces that intersect at sharp angles (planes)
Subangular blocky: Having subrounded and planar faces (no sharp angles)
Granular: Small structural units with curved or very irregular faces
Structureless soil horizons are defined as follows:
Single grained: Entirely noncoherent (each grain by itself), as in loose sand
Massive: Occurring as a coherent mass
Stubble mulch
Stubble or other crop residue left on the soil or partly worked into the soil. It
protects the soil from wind erosion and water erosion after harvest, during
preparation of a seedbed for the next crop, and during the early growing period
of the new crop.
Subsoil
Technically, the B horizon; roughly, the part of the solum below plow depth.
Subsoiling
Tilling a soil below normal plow depth, ordinarily to shatter a hardpan or claypan.
Substratum
The part of the soil below the solum.
Subsurface layer
Any surface soil horizon (A, E, AB, or EB) below the surface layer.
Summer fallow
The tillage of uncropped land during the summer to control weeds and allow
storage of moisture in the soil for the growth of a later crop. A practice common
in semiarid regions, where annual precipitation is not enough to produce a crop
every year. Summer fallow is frequently practiced before planting winter grain.

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Summit
The topographically highest position of a hillslope. It has a nearly level (planar or
only slightly convex) surface.
Surface layer
The soil ordinarily moved in tillage, or its equivalent in uncultivated soil, ranging
in depth from 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 centimeters). Frequently designated as the
plow layer, or the Ap horizon.
Surface soil
The A, E, AB, and EB horizons, considered collectively. It includes all subdivisions
of these horizons.
Talus
Rock fragments of any size or shape (commonly coarse and angular) derived from
and lying at the base of a cliff or very steep rock slope. The accumulated mass of
such loose broken rock formed chiefly by falling, rolling, or sliding.
Taxadjuncts
Soils that cannot be classified in a series recognized in the classification system.
Such soils are named for a series they strongly resemble and are designated as
taxadjuncts to that series because they differ in ways too small to be of
consequence in interpreting their use and behavior. Soils are recognized as
taxadjuncts only when one or more of their characteristics are slightly outside the
range defined for the family of the series for which the soils are named.
Terminal moraine
An end moraine that marks the farthest advance of a glacier. It typically has the
form of a massive arcuate or concentric ridge, or complex of ridges, and is
underlain by till and other types of drift.
Terrace (conservation)
An embankment, or ridge, constructed across sloping soils on the contour or at a
slight angle to the contour. The terrace intercepts surface runoff so that water
soaks into the soil or flows slowly to a prepared outlet. A terrace in a field generally
is built so that the field can be farmed. A terrace intended mainly for drainage has
a deep channel that is maintained in permanent sod.
Terrace (geomorphology)
A steplike surface, bordering a valley floor or shoreline, that represents the former
position of a flood plain, lake, or seashore. The term is usually applied both to the
relatively flat summit surface (tread) that was cut or built by stream or wave action
and to the steeper descending slope (scarp or riser) that has graded to a lower
base level of erosion.
Terracettes
Small, irregular steplike forms on steep hillslopes, especially in pasture, formed
by creep or erosion of surficial materials that may be induced or enhanced by
trampling of livestock, such as sheep or cattle.

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Texture, soil
The relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay particles in a mass of soil. The basic
textural classes, in order of increasing proportion of fine particles, are sand, loamy
sand, sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silt, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam,
sandy clay, silty clay, and clay. The sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam classes
may be further divided by specifying coarse, fine, or very fine.
Thin layer
Otherwise suitable soil material that is too thin for the specified use.
Till
Dominantly unsorted and nonstratified drift, generally unconsolidated and
deposited directly by a glacier without subsequent reworking by meltwater, and
consisting of a heterogeneous mixture of clay, silt, sand, gravel, stones, and
boulders; rock fragments of various lithologies are embedded within a finer matrix
that can range from clay to sandy loam.
Till plain
An extensive area of level to gently undulating soils underlain predominantly by
till and bounded at the distal end by subordinate recessional or end moraines.
Tilth, soil
The physical condition of the soil as related to tillage, seedbed preparation,
seedling emergence, and root penetration.
Toeslope
The gently inclined surface at the base of a hillslope. Toeslopes in profile are
commonly gentle and linear and are constructional surfaces forming the lower part
of a hillslope continuum that grades to valley or closed-depression floors.
Topsoil
The upper part of the soil, which is the most favorable material for plant growth.
It is ordinarily rich in organic matter and is used to topdress roadbanks, lawns,
and land affected by mining.
Trace elements
Chemical elements, for example, zinc, cobalt, manganese, copper, and iron, in
soils in extremely small amounts. They are essential to plant growth.
Tread
The flat to gently sloping, topmost, laterally extensive slope of terraces, flood-plain
steps, or other stepped landforms; commonly a recurring part of a series of natural
steplike landforms, such as successive stream terraces.
Tuff
A generic term for any consolidated or cemented deposit that is 50 percent or
more volcanic ash.

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Upland
An informal, general term for the higher ground of a region, in contrast with a lowlying adjacent area, such as a valley or plain, or for land at a higher elevation than
the flood plain or low stream terrace; land above the footslope zone of the hillslope
continuum.
Valley fill
The unconsolidated sediment deposited by any agent (water, wind, ice, or mass
wasting) so as to fill or partly fill a valley.
Variegation
Refers to patterns of contrasting colors assumed to be inherited from the parent
material rather than to be the result of poor drainage.
Varve
A sedimentary layer or a lamina or sequence of laminae deposited in a body of
still water within a year. Specifically, a thin pair of graded glaciolacustrine layers
seasonally deposited, usually by meltwater streams, in a glacial lake or other body
of still water in front of a glacier.
Very stony spot (map symbol)
A spot where 0.1 to 3.0 percent of the soil surface is covered by rock fragments
that are more than 10 inches in diameter in areas where the surface of the
surrounding soil is covered by less than 0.01 percent stones.
Water bars
Smooth, shallow ditches or depressional areas that are excavated at an angle
across a sloping road. They are used to reduce the downward velocity of water
and divert it off and away from the road surface. Water bars can easily be driven
over if constructed properly.
Weathering
All physical disintegration, chemical decomposition, and biologically induced
changes in rocks or other deposits at or near the earths surface by atmospheric
or biologic agents or by circulating surface waters but involving essentially no
transport of the altered material.
Well graded
Refers to soil material consisting of coarse grained particles that are well
distributed over a wide range in size or diameter. Such soil normally can be easily
increased in density and bearing properties by compaction. Contrasts with poorly
graded soil.
Wet spot (map symbol)
A somewhat poorly drained to very poorly drained area that is at least two drainage
classes wetter than the named soils in the surrounding map unit.

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Wilting point (or permanent wilting point)

The moisture content of soil, on an ovendry basis, at which a plant (specifically a
sunflower) wilts so much that it does not recover when placed in a humid, dark
chamber.
Windthrow
The uprooting and tipping over of trees by the wind.

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