LOCATION GRAINOLA OK+KSEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, thermic Udertic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Grainola silty clay loam--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ak--0 to 6 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) very gravelly silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; strong medium granular structure; hard, friable; about 25 percent by volume of flat limestone fragments that range from 2 mm to 76 mm diameter and about 10 percent by volume of flat limestone fragments greater than 76 mm in diameter; about 5 percent calcium carbonate concretions that range from 2 mm to 76 mm in diameter; calcareous; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
BAk--6 to 13 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium granular structure; hard, firm; about 7 percent by volume of flat limestone fragments that range from 2 mm to 76 mm in diameter; about 5 percent calcium carbonate concretions that range from 2 mm to 76 mm in diameter; calcareous; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Btk1--13 to 28 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) silty clay, dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) moist; with common fine light olive gray spots of weathered shale; weak medium blocky structure; very hard, very firm; nearly continuous clay films or pressure faces on faces of peds; about 5 percent by volume of sandstone fragments that range from 2 mm to 76 mm in diameter; few calcium carbonate concretions; few masses of calcium carbonate; calcareous; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
Btk2--28 to 36 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) very gravelly silty clay, dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium blocky structure; very hard, very firm; patchy clay films on faces of peds; about 40 percent by volume of dark reddish brown and olive gray shale fragments that range from 2 mm to 76 mm in diameter; few calcium carbonate concretions; common masses of calcium carbonate; calcareous; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 16 inches thick)
Cr--36 to 42 inches; weak red (2.5YR 5/2) shale bedrock; laminated; calcium carbonate films on faces of some fragments; moderately alkaline and calcareous.
TYPE LOCATION: Osage County, Oklahoma; about 4 miles west and 3 miles north of Shidler; 1,060 feet east and 280 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 14, T. 27 N., R. 5 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to soft siltstone or shale bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. This soil has cracks within 125 cm of the soil surface that are 5 mm or more wide through a thickness of 30 cm or more for some time in most years, and slickensides or wedge-shaped aggregates in a layer 15 cm or more thick that has it upper boundary within 125 cm of the soil surface; or a linear extensibility of 6.0 cm or more between the soil surface and a depth of 100 cm or a paralithic contact, whichever is shallower. Coarse fragments are typically sandstone, sandstone cemented with hematite, limestone, and calcium carbonate concretions and nodules. Masses of calcium carbonate range from 0 to 5 percent by volume in a subhorizons. Some areas have stones or boulders which cover 3 to 35 percent of the soil surface.
The A horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Where the A horizon is 18 cm or more thick, the chroma is higher than 3, or organic carbon is less than 0.6 percent. Texture is silt loam, loam, silty clay loam or clay loam, and their gravelly, cobbly, or stony counterparts. Content of coarse fragments ranges from 0 to 55 percent by volume. Coarse fragments of hard limestone or sandstone less than 76 mm in diameter range from 0 to 35 percent by volume, and coarse fragments 76 mm to 250 mm in diameter range from 0 to 20 percent by volume. Coarse fragments 250 mm to 375 mm in diameter range from 0 to 20 percent by volume. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline and some pedons are noncalcareous.
The BA horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is silty clay loam, clay loam, clay, or silty clay and their gravelly, cobbly, stony, or bouldery counterparts. Content of coarse fragments is the same as the A horizon. Reaction is moderately alkaline and calcareous.
The Btk1 horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 8. The Bt1 horizon is streaked or spotted with shades of grayish or olive colors in some pedons, which are believed to be inherited from the bedrock parent material. This horizon has texture of silty clay loam, clay loam, clay, or silty clay. The clay content of the Btk1 horizon averages 42 percent, but ranges from 35 to 60 percent. Soft shale fragments less than 76 mm in diameter that slake in water within 15 hours range from 0 to 15 percent by volume. Reaction is moderately alkaline and calcareous.
The Btk2 horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 8. Texture is clay loam, silty clay loam, clay, and silty clay. Soft shale fragments less than 76 mm in diameter that slake in water within 15 hours range from 5 to 45 percent by volume. Masses of calcium carbonate range from 0 to 10 percent by volume. Reaction is moderately alkaline and calcareous.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. Texture is clay loam, silty clay loam, clay, or silty clay. Soft shale fragments less than 76 mm in diameter that slake in water within 15 hours range from 5 to 70 percent by volume. Reaction is moderately alkaline and calcareous.
The Cr horizon has hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. Some pedons are streaked or spotted with shades of grayish, brownish, yellowish, or olive colors. Thin strata of limestone or sandstone are interbedded with shales in some pedons. This material has high or very high excavation difficulty due to the interbedding of hard sandstone and limestone. It is dense enough to be root restrictive. Fractures are greater than 10 cm apart. The Cr is composed mostly of shale, which will slake in water within 15 hours.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Soils in similar families are Agan, Aydelotte, Culp, Durant, Foraker, Lofton, Normangee, Piedmont, Ponder, Renthin, Steedman, Tabler, Throck, and Vernon series. Agan and Aydelotte soils have a solum more than 60 inches thick. Culp, Durant, Foraker, Lofton, Piedmont, Renthin, and Tabler soils have a mollic epipedon. In addition, Durant, Foraker, and Tabler soils have smectitic mineralogy. Normangee and Ponder soils have a solum more than 40 inches thick and have smectitic mineralogy. Steedman soils are more acid in the A and Bt1 horizons and have smectitic mineralogy. Throck and Vernon soils do not have an argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Grainola soils are on very gently sloping to steep convex ridgetops and side slopes of uplands in the Central Rolling Red Prairies. Slopes range from 1 to 25 percent. They formed in material weathered from shale of Permian age. The climate is moist subhumid. Mean Annual Precipitation is 26 to 40 inches. Mean Annual Temperature is 58 to 64 degrees F. Thornthwaite Annual P-E indices is 44 to 64. Average number of frost free days is 200 to 220. Elevation ranges from 800 to 1500 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Aydelotte and Foraker series and Apperson, Corbin, Kiti, Lucien, Masham, Piedmont, Renfrow, Renthin, Shidler, and Tamford series. Aydelotte and Foraker soils usually occur on broad ridges that are slightly higher. Apperson, Corbin, and Renfrow soils have a mollic epipedon and usually occur on broad ridges that are slightly higher than Grainola soils. Kiti, Lucien, and Shidler soils are less than 20 inches thick, lack an argillic horizon, have a mollic epipedon, and occur on ridgetops. Masham soils are less than 20 inches thick and typically occur slightly lower in the landscape than Grainola soils. Tamford soils do not have argillic horizons and occur on foot slopes. Piedmont and Renthin soils have a mollic epipedon and typically occur on slightly higher, smoother areas of the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very slow permeability; runoff is very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all used for range. Native vegetation is short and midgrass prairie.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Rolling Red Prairies (MLRA 80A) of Oklahoma and possibly Kansas. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Osage County, Oklahoma; 1975.
REMARKS: Grainola soils were formerly included in the Vernon series.
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon 0 to 6 inches.
Argillic horizon: 13 to 36 inches of depth.
Paralithic contact at 36 inches.
Ustic moisture regime: Moisture control section is dry in some part more than 90 days per year.
Udertic: Moisture control section is dry in some part from 90 to 150 days. Clay content is greater than 35 percent within 15 inches of the surface.
Soil Interpretation Records: OK0175 - Grainola Series
OK0329 - Gravelly
OK0310 - Cobbly
OK0288 - Stony
OK0311 - Bouldery
ADDITIONAL DATA: Oklahoma State University laboratory data 73-OK-57-18, 76-OK-52-(1-6), 72-OK-60-(1-5), and 74-OK-10-(1-5).