Soil Series Atlas

Williams soil series

Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Argiustolls

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–15 cm · 0–6 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up15–25 cm · 6–10 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up25–38 cm · 10–15 inBtkSubsoil · clay build-up, lime (carbonate)build-up38–61 cm · 15–24 inBkSubsoil · lime (carbonate) build-up61–91 cm · 24–36 inCParent material91–152 cm · 36–60 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–15 cm · 0–6 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up15–25 cm · 6–10 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up25–38 cm · 10–15 inBtkSubsoil · claybuild-up, lime(carbonate) build-up38–61 cm · 15–24 inBkSubsoil · lime(carbonate) build-up61–91 cm · 24–36 inCParent material91–152 cm · 36–60 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 152 cm (60 in), 6 horizons.

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

With 4.23 million acres mapped, Williams is the 5th-largest of 24,791 U.S. soil series. No series covers more of North Dakota: it accounts for 6.2% of the state’s mapped soil. No other Mollisol series covers as much ground. It is the largest of the 50 established series in its family. It is the state soil of North Dakota.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Well drained
Water movement
Moderately slow

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Williams is mapped

4,232,753 acres in 45 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth Dakota: 2,581,758 acresOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth Dakota: 741,733 acresTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontana: 909,262 acresNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Williams acres

  1. North Dakota61%
  2. Montana22%
  3. South Dakota18%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep

Permeability

Moderately slow

SlowFast

Of the 7 atlas series that have moderately slow permeability, this is the largest.

Parent material
Glacial till
Landform
Till plains, moraines
Type location
North Dakota

How it is classified

  1. OrderMollisols
  2. SuborderUstolls
  3. Great groupArgiustolls
  4. SubgroupTypic Argiustolls
  5. FamilyFine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Argiustollsfine-loamy particle-size classmixed mineralogy classsuperactive cation-exchange activity classfrigid soil temperature regime

Against other Mollisols

Williams makes up 0.97% of all mapped Mollisols — the 1st largest of 7,593 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

91 cm under a median of 104 cm

Depth to the subsoil

15 cm under a median of 25 cm

Its relatives

49 other established series share the family “Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Argiustolls”

  1. Williams4.2 M
  2. Vida1.1 M
  3. Reeder855 k
  4. Farnuf714 k
  5. Martinsdale298 k
  6. Dooley224 k
  7. Fairfield183 k
  8. Sponseller105 k
  9. Meagher73 k

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Williams152 cm · Typic Argiustolls
  2. Harney152 cm · Typic Argiustolls
  3. Holdrege203 cm · Typic Argiustolls
  4. Houdek152 cm · Typic Argiustolls

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–15 cm0–6 in15 cm
Bt1Subsoil: clay build-up15–25 cm6–10 in10 cm
Bt2Subsoil: clay build-up25–38 cm10–15 in13 cm
BtkSubsoil: clay build-up, lime (carbonate) build-up38–61 cm15–24 in23 cm
BkSubsoil: lime (carbonate) build-up61–91 cm24–36 in30 cm
CParent material91–152 cm36–60 in61 cm

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