LOCATION MOREY TX+LAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, siliceous, superactive, hyperthermic Oxyaquic Argiudolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Morey loam--cropland. (Colors for moist soil)
Ap--0 to 5 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; moderate medium granular structure; hard, friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 15 inches thick)
Bt1--5 to 9 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; moderate coarse angular blocky structure; hard, firm; common fine and few medium roots; few distinct brown (10YR 5/3) iron accumulations; few fine rounded iron-manganese concretions; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--9 to 16 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay loam; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few fine and few medium roots; neutral; few faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions and few distinct brown (10YR 5/3) iron accumulations; slightly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
Bt3--16 to 26 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay loam; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few fine roots in cracks; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) iron accumulations; few fine rounded iron-manganese concretions; slightly alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 25 inches thick)
Bt4--26 to 36 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay loam; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few very fine roots in cracks; few fine prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) and brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) iron accumulations; few rounded iron-manganese concretions; few coarse rounded calcium carbonate concretions; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 25 inches thick)
Btg1--36 to 49 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to strong fine angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few very fine roots in cracks; common medium faint gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions and common prominent light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) iron accumulations; few iron-manganese concretions; few medium rounded calcium carbonate concretions; moderately alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Btg2--49 to 55 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) and gray (10YR 5/1) clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm; few very fine roots in cracks; common medium distinct light yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) iron accumulations; few iron-manganese concretions; few coarse rounded calcium carbonate concretions; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 15 to 40 inches)
Btgk--55 to 80 inches; light brownish gray (2.5YR 6/2) clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm; common medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) iron accumulations; few coarse rounded calcium carbonate concretions; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Jefferson County, Texas; 10.75 miles west of Beaumont on U.S. Highway 90 from its intersection with Interstate Highway 10; 1.0 mile north to Texas Agricultural Experiment Station; 0.35 miles west of Headquarters Building in cropland. (Latitude 30N, 04, 01; Longitude 94W, 18, 02)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is more than 80 inches. The mollic epipedon is 10 to 30 inches thick. Clay content of the particle-size control section ranges from 22 to 35 percent, silt 30 to 50 percent, and sand 15 to 35 percent of which there is less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser. Depth to carbonates is more than 24 inches and depth to matrix that effervesces is more than 30 inches. SAR ranges from 2 to 6 in the upper 20 inches and 4 to 8 below 20 inches.
Combined thickness of the Ap or A horizon ranges from 5 to 15 inches. Texture is loam, silt loam or silty clay loam. The Ap or A horizon has color with hue 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Iron accumulations in shades of yellow and brown range from few to common. Irrigation for rice production, on a 3 to 5 year rotation, ponds these soils for 2 to 5 months. During this period iron accumulations and iron depletions range from common to many in shades of brown, yellow, red, gray, and green. These temporary redox features persist for about 1 to 3 years following rice production. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
The Bt horizons have color with hue 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. Iron accumulations in shades of red, yellow, and brown range from few to many. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline.
The Btg horizons have color with hue 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 or 2. Iron accumulations in shades of red, yellow, and brown range from few to many. Texture is clay loam, silty clay loam, clay or silty clay. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The Btkg horizon, present in most pedons, has color with hue 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 or 2. Iron accumulations in shades of red, yellow, or brown range from few to many. Texture is clay loam, silty clay loam, clay, or silty clay. Calcium carbonate concretions range from 1 to 5 percent and effervescence ranges from very slight to strong. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no series in the same family. Closely similar soils include Algoa, Bernard, Mocarey, and Viterbo series. Algoa and Mocarey soils have a fine-loamy particle-size control section and have a calcic horizon. Bernard soils have a fine particle-size control section and are in slightly drier climates. Viterbo soils have a ochric epipedon and are acid throughout.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Morey soils are on broad, nearly level uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 1 percent. These soils are on the Gulf Coast Prairie mainly east of the Trinity River. They formed in silty and clayey sediments of the Beaumont Formation of Pleistocene age. Mean annual temperature ranges from 70 to 72 degrees F. Frost free days range from 250 to 270 and elevation ranges from 10 to 35 feet above sea level. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 50 to 60 inches. Thornthwaite P-E index ranges from 65 to 82.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Viterbo soils and Anahuac, Aris, Beaumont, China, Labelle, League, Levac, and Spindletop soils. Viterbo soils are slightly lower in the landscape. Anahuac and Spindletop soils are slightly higher in the landscape and have a surface layer 20 to 30 inches thick. Aris soils are lower in the landscape and have a glossic horizon. Beaumont, China, and League soils are Vertisols and are on the same or slightly lower landscape positions. Labelle and Levac soils have a fine particle-size control section and are on the same landscape position.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Morey soils are somewhat poorly drained and slowly permeable. Runoff is low.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for pasture or rice production. Improved pastures are mostly in bahiagrass. Native grasses are mainly little bluestem, indiangrass, brownseed paspalum, eastern gamagrass, big bluestem, Florida paspalum, and switchgrass. In some areas pine and hardwood trees have encroached.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Gulf Coast Prairie of Texas east of the Trinity River and possibly in Western Louisiana (MLRA 150A). The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jefferson County, Texas; 1963
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon - 0 to 26 inches
Argillic horizon - 5 to 81 inches
Oxyaquic feature - saturation of the A and Bt1 horizon about 30 days or more during the winter and early spring months in most years. This layer has redoximorphic features but does not have aquic soil conditions in most years.
Additional data: NSSL data Jefferson Co. Tex. (S88-TX-245-003)(S59TX-123-5)(S59TX-123-6). Mineralogy changed from mixed to siliceous 12/95 based on data from TAMU.
SOIL INTERPRETATION RECORD NUMBER: TX0190