Soil Series Atlas

Crete soil series

Fine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Udertic Argiustolls

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–15 cm · 0–6 inATopsoil15–36 cm · 6–14 inBASubsoil grading from topsoil36–48 cm · 14–19 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up48–71 cm · 19–28 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up71–89 cm · 28–35 inBCSubsoil grading to parent material89–107 cm · 35–42 inCParent material107–152 cm · 42–60 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–15 cm · 0–6 inATopsoil15–36 cm · 6–14 inBASubsoil grading fromtopsoil36–48 cm · 14–19 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up48–71 cm · 19–28 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up71–89 cm · 28–35 inBCSubsoil grading toparent material89–107 cm · 35–42 inCParent material107–152 cm · 42–60 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 152 cm (60 in), 7 horizons.

Mollisols — soils with a thick, dark, organic-rich topsoil

Crete is mapped on 2.04 million acres in 2 states, 32nd nationally by area. In Kansas only four series cover more ground. Besides it, only Blount and Tokul have moderately low water movement in this atlas. It was first described in Nebraska, which holds 35% of its acres today.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Moderately well drained
Water movement
Moderately low

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Crete is mapped

2,040,955 acres in 52 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansas: 1,324,486 acresMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraska: 716,469 acresSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Crete acres

  1. Kansas65%
  2. Nebraska35%
  • Rank in the state · share of its mapped soil
  • Kansas 5th of 452 · 2.60%
  • Nebraska 11th of 414 · 1.54%

In the field

Drainage

Moderately well drained

Drains fastStays wet

10 other atlas series are moderately well drained, none of them Mollisols.

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep

Water movement (Ksat)

Moderately low

SlowFast

Blount and Tokul also have moderately low Ksat.

Parent material
Loess
Landform
Ridges/interfluves, hills, uplands, loess uplands, terraces, valleys/basins
Major land resource areas
75
Type location
Nebraska

How it is classified

  1. OrderMollisols
  2. SuborderUstolls
  3. Great groupArgiustolls
  4. SubgroupPachic Udertic Argiustolls
  5. FamilyFine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Udertic Argiustollsfine particle-size classsmectitic mineralogy classmesic soil temperature regime

Against other Mollisols

Crete makes up 0.47% of all mapped Mollisols — the 11th largest of 7,593 series in the order.

Depth to the subsoil

36 cm over a median of 25 cm

Its relatives

2 other established series share the family “Fine, smectitic, mesic Pachic Udertic Argiustolls”

  1. Crete2.0 M
  2. Ladysmith355 k
  3. Blazefork4 k

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Crete152 cm · Pachic Udertic Argiustolls
  2. Harney152 cm · Typic Argiustolls
  3. Scobey152 cm · Aridic Argiustolls
  4. Williams152 cm · Typic Argiustolls

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–15 cm0–6 in15 cm
ATopsoil15–36 cm6–14 in21 cm
BASubsoil grading from topsoil36–48 cm14–19 in12 cm
Bt1Subsoil: clay build-up48–71 cm19–28 in23 cm
Bt2Subsoil: clay build-up71–89 cm28–35 in18 cm
BCSubsoil grading to parent material89–107 cm35–42 in18 cm
CParent material107–152 cm42–60 in45 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2020-07), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides