LOCATION FERRIS TX+OKEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Udic Haplusterts
TYPICAL PEDON: Ferris clay--pasture. Pedon described above is an equal
distance between its deep and shallow extremes. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; olive (5Y 5/3) clay, olive (5Y 4/3) moist; weak medium and fine angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; surface has a mulch about 1/2 inch thick of fine extremely hard discrete aggregates; many fine roots; few fine calcium carbonate concretions; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (3 to 12 inches thick)
Bw--8 to 24 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) clay; olive (5Y 5/3) moist; moderate fine angular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; common shiny pressure faces; few fine calcium carbonate concretions and masses; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline. (6 to 20 inches thick)
Bss--24 to 40 inches; pale olive (5Y 6/3) clay; olive (5Y 5/3) moist; common fine faint brownish yellow mottles; moderate fine angular blocky structure forming wedge shaped peds having long axes tilted up to
45 degrees from the horizontal; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; common coarse slickensides; pressure faces are shiny; vertical cracks 1 to 5 cm wide and 18 inches apart extend to 40 inches; few fine calcium carbonate concretions and few fine powdery masses of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; diffuse wavy boundary. (18 to 30 inches thick)
Ck--40 to 80 inches; coarsely and prominently mottled pale olive (5Y
6/3) and yellow (2.5Y 7/8) weakly consolidated shale that has clay texture; weak coarse angular blocky structure mixed with coarse blocky rock (shale) structure; extremely hard, very firm; few fine roots between blocks of rock structure; few slickensides; common fine masses and concretions of calcium carbonate; violently effervescent; moderately
alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Navarro County, Texas; about 15 miles west of Corsicana on Texas Highway 22; from the northeast part of Blooming Grove, 3.3 miles northward on a county road; then 190 feet east in a pasture. This
location is 1.2 miles north-northwest of FP site 105B.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum ranges from 40 to 60 inches thick. Texture is clay or silty clay, with clay content ranging from 40 to 60 percent. Water worn siliceous pebbles are on the surface of some pedons. When dry, cracks 1/2 to 3 inches wide extend from the surface to a depth of more than 12 inches. Cracks remain open 120 to 150 cumulative days in most years. Calcium carbonate equivalent in the control section ranges from 2 to about 30 percent.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to
4. The lower values and chromas occur where A horizons are thickest in the pedon. In pedons where the moist color value of the A horizon is less than 3.5, the horizon is less than 12 inches thick.
The Bw and Bss horizons have hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 6. Some pedons do not have mottles in the upper part of the Bw. Gray mottles are inherited from the shale (lithochromic). Calcium carbonate concretions range from few to many in the Bw and Bss horizons, with total carbonates ranging from 2 to 30 percent.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 to
8. Most pedons are coarsely and prominently mottled. It is strongly weathered calcareous clay, weakly consolidated shale that has clay texture or shales. Gypsum crystals occur in the Ck horizon of some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Depalt,
Deport,
Frelsburg,
Latium, and
Medlin series. Similar soils are the
Ellis and
Heiden series. Depalt and Deport soils are non calcareous in the surface layer and, in addition, Depalt soils have dominant hue of 7.5YR or redder, and Deport soils have chroma of less than 2 in the surface horizon. Frelsburg soils have sola 60 to 80 inches thick, and formed in Tertiary Age materials. Latium soils are in slightly more moist climates and have cracks that remain open for longer periods (120 to 150 days). In addition, Latium soils are on Tertiary Age materials. Medlin soils have more than 30 percent calcium carbonate
equivalent, and are dry for longer periods of time. Ellis soils have sola 20 to 40 inches thick. Heiden soils have moist color value of 3.5 or less and chroma of 2.5 or less in the upper 12 inches in most pedons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ferris soils are on uplands. The surfaces are convex to plane with slope gradients mostly between 5 and 12 percent, but ranging from 1 to 20 percent. Uncultivated areas often have narrow microridges and microvalleys that extend up and down the slope. The soil formed in weakly consolidated mostly Upper Cretaceous formations of
calcareous marine sediments, high in montmorillonitic clays. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 42 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 64 to 70 degrees F. Frost free days range from 230 to 260 days and elevation ranges from 400 to 1,000 feet. The Thornthwaite P-E index is 44 to 66.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the similar
Ellis and
Heiden
series and the
Altoga,
Houston Black,
Lamar and
McLennan series. Altoga,
Lamar and McLennan soils have fine-silty control sections and are on similar positions. Houston Black soils have moist value of less than 3.5 and chroma of less than 1.5 throughout the upper 12 inches. Altoga, Ellis, and Lamar soils are on similar positions with Ferris. Heiden and Houston Black soils are on smoother slightly higher positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is very slow. Runoff is medium on 1 to 3 percent slopes, high on 3 to 5 percent slopes, and very high on slopes greater than 5 percent. Infiltration is rapid when the soil is dry and cracked, but very slow when the soil is wet.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for pasture and production of hay. Most
areas have been cultivated, eroded and are now in grass. Vegetation is mainly bluestems, buffalograss and threeawn grasses and scattered mesquite trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and eastern Texas Blacklands (MLRA 86A). The series is of large extent, comprising more than 100,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Travis County, Texas; 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the A horizon from 0 to 8 inches. (Ap horizon)
Cambic horizon - 8 to 40 inches. (Bw and Bss horizon)
Vertic properties - Slickensides at a depth of 24 to 40 inches. High shrink-swell potential and cracks that are 1/2 to 3 inches wide at a depth of 12 inches or more.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL Data: Hopkins County, TX S68-223-001 (68L895-68L899).
Soil Interpretation Record Number: TX0296 , TX1150 (COOL)