Soil Series Atlas

Houston Black soil series

Fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplusterts

050100150200250cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft5 ft6 ft7 ft8 ftATopsoil0–20 cm · 0–8 inBwSubsoil · color or structure change20–61 cm · 8–24 inBkss1Subsoil · slickensides (shrink–swell),lime (carbonate) build-up61–97 cm · 24–38 inBkss2Subsoil · slickensides (shrink–swell),lime (carbonate) build-up97–203 cm · 38–80 inBkss3Subsoil · slickensides (shrink–swell),lime (carbonate) build-up203–264 cm · 80–104 in050100150200250cmATopsoil0–20 cm · 0–8 inBwSubsoil · color orstructure change20–61 cm · 8–24 inBkss1Subsoil · slickensides(shrink–swell), lime(carbonate) build-up61–97 cm · 24–38 inBkss2Subsoil · slickensides(shrink–swell), lime(carbonate) build-up97–203 cm · 38–80 inBkss3Subsoil · slickensides(shrink–swell), lime(carbonate) build-up203–264 cm · 80–104 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 264 cm (104 in), 5 horizons.

Vertisols — clay soils that shrink and crack when dry

Houston Black is mapped on 1.41 million acres in Texas, 88th nationally by area. At 264 cm its official description goes deeper than any other in the atlas. It is the only series in the atlas that belongs to the great group Haplusterts. Among the 481 mapped Vertisols it is the 2nd-largest. It is the state soil of Texas.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Moderately well drained
Water movement
Very slow

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Houston Black is mapped

1,411,597 acres in 32 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexas: 1,411,597 acresWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Houston Black acres

  1. Texas100%
  • Rank in the state · share of its mapped soil
  • Texas 9th of 1,565 · 0.91%

In the field

Drainage

Moderately well drained

Drains fastStays wet

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

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep

Permeability

Very slow

SlowFast
Parent material
Residuum, mudstone/siltstone
Landform
Ridges/interfluves, plains
Major land resource areas
86A, 86B
Type location
Texas

How it is classified

  1. OrderVertisols
  2. SuborderUsterts
  3. Great groupHaplusterts
  4. SubgroupUdic Haplusterts
  5. FamilyFine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplustertsfine particle-size classsmectitic mineralogy classthermic soil temperature regime

Against other Vertisols

Houston Black makes up 3.32% of all mapped Vertisols — the 2nd largest of 481 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

264 cm over a median of 152 cm

Depth described

264 cm over a median of 165 cm

Its relatives

19 other established series share the family “Fine, smectitic, thermic Udic Haplusterts”

  1. Houston Black1.4 M
  2. Heiden1.1 M
  3. Branyon437 k
  4. Burleson428 k
  5. Slidell260 k
  6. Sanger258 k
  7. Fairlie197 k
  8. Leson155 k
  9. Clarita106 k

Other Vertisols in this atlas

  1. Houston Black264 cm · Udic Haplusterts
  2. Sharkey213 cm · Chromic Epiaquerts

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ATopsoil0–20 cm0–8 in20 cm
BwSubsoil: color or structure change20–61 cm8–24 in41 cm
Bkss1Subsoil: slickensides (shrink–swell), lime (carbonate) build-up61–97 cm24–38 in36 cm
Bkss2Subsoil: slickensides (shrink–swell), lime (carbonate) build-up97–203 cm38–80 in106 cm
Bkss3Subsoil: slickensides (shrink–swell), lime (carbonate) build-up203–264 cm80–104 in61 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2017-08), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides