Lake Charles (Laewest) soil and landscape
Soil Profile: The Lake Charles series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in clayey sediments. These soils are on broad coastal prairies. Slopes are mainly less than 1 percent, but range from 0 to 8 percent. (Photos by W.L. Miller, USDA-NRCS, retired)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Hapluderts
Classification changed from thermic Typic Pelluderts to hyperthermic Typic Hapluderts 3/94 based on Amendment 16 to Soil Taxonomy. Temperature regime changed based on local data and study by Texas Agriculture Experiment Station. The series type location was moved to the current location during the Soil Data Join and Recorrelation initiative to a location that is more central to the map unit concept.
Landscape: Lake Charles soils are mainly in cultivation and native pasture. Crops are corn, cotton, rice, and grain sorghum. Native grasses include little bluestem, indiangrass, eastern gamagrass, switchgrass, big bluestem, and brownseed paspalum. Most areas have scattered live oak, water oak, elm, hackberry, and huisache trees. Pine trees have encroached in some areas.
This is a cyclic soil and undisturbed areas have gilgai microrelief with microknolls 15 to 38 cm (6 to 15 in) higher than microdepressions. Distance from the center of the microknoll to the center of the microdepression ranges from 1.2 to 4.9 m (4 to 16 ft). The microknoll makes up about 20 percent, the intermediate or area between the knoll and depression about 60 percent, and the microdepression about 20 percent or less. The angle of the slickenside ranges from about 10 to 65 degrees from horizontal and tend to be more vertical in microknolls than in microdepressions. The amplitude of waviness between mollic colored matrix in the upper part of the solum and the higher value colors in the lower part ranges from 30 to 60 inches. When dry, the soil has cracks 1 to 5 cm (1/2 to 2 in) wide at the surface and extend to a depth of 30 cm (12 in) or more. Cracks remain open for 60 to 90 cumulative days in most years.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeast Texas mainly between the Colorado and Trinity Rivers of Texas. Land Resource Region T; Major Land Resource Area 150A. The series is extensive.
For additional information about Texas Vertisols, visit:
cristinemorgan.tamu.edu/research/crack_data/Vertisol-SSH_...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LAKE_CHARLES.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Lake Charles (Laewest) soil and landscape
Soil Profile: The Lake Charles series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, very slowly permeable soils that formed in clayey sediments. These soils are on broad coastal prairies. Slopes are mainly less than 1 percent, but range from 0 to 8 percent. (Photos by W.L. Miller, USDA-NRCS, retired)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Hapluderts
Classification changed from thermic Typic Pelluderts to hyperthermic Typic Hapluderts 3/94 based on Amendment 16 to Soil Taxonomy. Temperature regime changed based on local data and study by Texas Agriculture Experiment Station. The series type location was moved to the current location during the Soil Data Join and Recorrelation initiative to a location that is more central to the map unit concept.
Landscape: Lake Charles soils are mainly in cultivation and native pasture. Crops are corn, cotton, rice, and grain sorghum. Native grasses include little bluestem, indiangrass, eastern gamagrass, switchgrass, big bluestem, and brownseed paspalum. Most areas have scattered live oak, water oak, elm, hackberry, and huisache trees. Pine trees have encroached in some areas.
This is a cyclic soil and undisturbed areas have gilgai microrelief with microknolls 15 to 38 cm (6 to 15 in) higher than microdepressions. Distance from the center of the microknoll to the center of the microdepression ranges from 1.2 to 4.9 m (4 to 16 ft). The microknoll makes up about 20 percent, the intermediate or area between the knoll and depression about 60 percent, and the microdepression about 20 percent or less. The angle of the slickenside ranges from about 10 to 65 degrees from horizontal and tend to be more vertical in microknolls than in microdepressions. The amplitude of waviness between mollic colored matrix in the upper part of the solum and the higher value colors in the lower part ranges from 30 to 60 inches. When dry, the soil has cracks 1 to 5 cm (1/2 to 2 in) wide at the surface and extend to a depth of 30 cm (12 in) or more. Cracks remain open for 60 to 90 cumulative days in most years.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeast Texas mainly between the Colorado and Trinity Rivers of Texas. Land Resource Region T; Major Land Resource Area 150A. The series is extensive.
For additional information about Texas Vertisols, visit:
cristinemorgan.tamu.edu/research/crack_data/Vertisol-SSH_...
For a detailed soil description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/L/LAKE_CHARLES.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit: