University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Plant, Soil & Entomological Sciences Soil & Land Resources
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Vertisols

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example 3

fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplustert
southcentral Texas
(Branyon series)

These soils form on nearly flat alluvial terraces. The alluvial parent material is both clay-rich and calcareous. The high shrink-swell capacity of this soil is apparent from the slickensides (ss) present throughout the lower profile. Slickensides are polished ped surfaces within the soil that form as a result of shrink-swell processes causing sections of soil to slide past one another along fracture planes. The coefficient of linear extensibility (COLE) for this soil is typical of Vertisols. A COLE >0.09 indicates high shrink-swell activity. This soil is a member of the Branyon series.

For more information about these soils,
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  COLE % CLAY
A 0.146 57.3
Bss2 0.105 56.7
Bk 0.099 33.5
<< back to Soil Orders list next example >> 
  Examples:
1. Typic Hapludert
Texas
2. Udic Haplustert Puerto Rico
3. Udic Haplustert
southcentral Texas
4. Epiaquert landscape
Owyhee Co., ID
5. Xeric Epiaquert
Owyhee Co., ID
6. surface cracks in Vertisol
Utah
7. Vertisol slickensides
8. cracked wall on Vertisol
9. gilgai relief on Vertisol landscape South Dakota
If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions about the 12 Soil Orders web site,
please contact
Dr. Paul McDaniel  at the Soil Science Division,
University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-2339.