Soil Series Atlas

Keith soil series

Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–13 cm · 0–5 inATopsoil13–23 cm · 5–9 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up23–36 cm · 9–14 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up36–58 cm · 14–23 inBCSubsoil grading to parent material58–84 cm · 23–33 inCParent material84–152 cm · 33–60 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–13 cm · 0–5 inATopsoil13–23 cm · 5–9 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up23–36 cm · 9–14 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up36–58 cm · 14–23 inBCSubsoil grading toparent material58–84 cm · 23–33 inCParent material84–152 cm · 33–60 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 152 cm (60 in), 6 horizons.

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

With 2.76 million acres mapped, Keith is the 19th-largest of 24,791 U.S. soil series. In Kansas only three series cover more ground. It is the largest of the 10 established series in its family. It was first described in Nebraska, which holds 21% of its acres today.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Well drained
Water movement
Moderately high

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Keith is mapped

2,760,253 acres in 77 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColorado: 297,928 acresFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansas: 1,619,909 acresMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth Dakota: 246,323 acresTexasWyoming: 5,159 acresConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraska: 590,933 acresSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Keith acres

  1. Kansas59%
  2. Nebraska21%
  3. Colorado11%
  4. South Dakota9%
  5. Wyoming0.2%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep

Water movement (Ksat)

Moderately high

SlowFast
Parent material
Loess
Landform
Hills, plains, terraces
Major land resource areas
67, 72
Type location
Nebraska

How it is classified

  1. OrderMollisols
  2. SuborderUstolls
  3. Great groupArgiustolls
  4. SubgroupAridic Argiustolls
  5. FamilyFine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustollsfine-silty particle-size classmixed mineralogy classsuperactive cation-exchange activity classmesic soil temperature regime

Against other Mollisols

Keith makes up 0.63% of all mapped Mollisols — the 9th largest of 7,593 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

84 cm under a median of 104 cm

Its relatives

9 other established series share the family “Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Aridic Argiustolls”

  1. Keith2.8 M
  2. Norka484 k
  3. Alliance378 k
  4. Kadoka204 k
  5. Thirtynine110 k
  6. Hugoton76 k
  7. Mace45 k
  8. Beeler37 k
  9. Calemore15 k

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Keith152 cm · Aridic Argiustolls
  2. Scobey152 cm · Aridic Argiustolls
  3. Richfield152 cm · Aridic Argiustolls
  4. Harney152 cm · Typic Argiustolls

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–13 cm0–5 in13 cm
ATopsoil13–23 cm5–9 in10 cm
Bt1Subsoil: clay build-up23–36 cm9–14 in13 cm
Bt2Subsoil: clay build-up36–58 cm14–23 in22 cm
BCSubsoil grading to parent material58–84 cm23–33 in26 cm
CParent material84–152 cm33–60 in68 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2006-01), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides