PIT#4

  A -- 0 to 18 cm; very dark brown (10YR 2/2), field moisture; sandy loam; medium, subrounded,  0.7 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar and other crystalline lithologies; weak,  medium, subangular blocky; very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine roots; no clasts; no HCl reaction; distinct wavy.

  C -- 18 to 43 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4), field moisture; loamy sand; coarse, subrounded, 0.9 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar and other crystalline lithologies; weak, medium, subangular blocky; very friable, sticky, non-plastic; many very fine roots, common fine roots; clasts: 7 mm (1 to 15 mm), 3%, 0.9, 0.3 to 0.7, vertical, sandstone, granite, and slate; no HCl reaction; abrupt smooth.

    Ab -- 43 to 104 cm; very dark brown (10YR 2/2), field moisture; sandy loam; medium, subrounded, 0.7 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar and other crystalline lithologies; weak, medium, subangular blocky; friable, slightly sticky, non-plastic; common very fine roots; clasts: 9 mm (1-15mm), 10%, 0.7, 0.5, vertical, sandstone and slate; no HCl reaction; gradual irregular. 

  Cbg -- 104 to 152 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4), field moisture; loamy sand;  coarse, rounded, 0.7 sphericity, poorly sorted, mostly quartz with feldspar and other crystalline lithologies; moderate, medium, subangular blocky; friable, sticky, non-plastic; no roots; no clasts; no HCl reaction; abrupt irregular.   

  R -- 152 cm +; sandstone; horizon not described. 

Soil Pit #4 is located within a few meters of the stream in a shady, wooded setting on what appears to be a low, natural levee.  Soils in this location are mapped as Scotah Series in new soil map data (Meyer, personal communication 2001), and as Alluvial Land, Sandy (no typical soil profile description provided), in the Dunn County Soil Survey (ref).  Our observations are generally consistent with the Scotah Series description.  However, there are discrepancies.  We observed the following characteristics not indicated in the Scotah Series description:  presence of a buried A-C profile, sand coarser than fine in the A-horizon, absence of a B-horizon, and no vertical subdivisions in the C-horizon.  These relatively minor discrepancies lead us to conclude that the Soil Profile observed in Pit #4 is most consistent with the Morocco Series as described in the Dunn County Soil Survey (ref).  Similarities between soil characteristics we observed in the Pit #4 soil profile and the Morocco Series description include: weak horizonation (A-C), texture (loamy sand), structure (weak, subangular blocky), drainage class (somewhat poorly drained), parent material (sandy outwash plain or reworked sandy outwash), vegetation (woodland), slope (0-2%), solum color (very dark brown), and mottles at depth.