Scientist Traces Background of Holt’s Soil
Prehistoric Waters Account for Varied Soil
Deposits and Help Determine Productivity
By Lloyd Mitchell, State Soil Scientist
The soils of Holt county are the result of millions of years of
gelogical activity and soil forming processes.
In order to properly understand them, it is necessary that we
think about the county as a whole and how many different types
of materials are present within its boundaries on which the soils
have developed.
The present surface is part of what was once a nearly level to
gently rolling plain. It was later cut into by headward erosion of
the streams and drainages until in parts of the county the topogra
phy is quite rough and broken.
The establishment of the drainage system has exposed many !
different kinds of parent materials in the older lime rock and shale
formations. These formations are the oldest sources of soil mate- {
rial.
The younger toil materials
have been brought in by wind
and flowing streams. The mate
rials t^ary from gravel that wai
washed in from adjacent areas
and deposited over the old sur
face. to sills and sands that
have been blown in and depot
tied.
Another type of deposit that
has furnished the material tot
part of the soils in the county
is the river sediments such as oc
cur along the Niobrara.
In order that we understand
the various parent materials ot
the soils and the soils them
selves, it is advisable that each
of them be described. Begin
ning with the materials of the
oldest geological ages up through
the youngest, there is a definite
sequence and type of soil devel
oped.
They are as follows.
Parent Materials and Soils
PIERRE SHALE —
The Pierre shale is the oldest
geological formation on which
the soils of the county have de
veloped. Typically it Is a dark
gray to black shale that has oc
casional thin brown colored zones
in it. These latter zones are the
result of weathering of material
that contains a high percentage
'of iron. The formation is ex
posed along the Niobrara river
A typical example is near the
Spencer dam.
The Pierre shale is quite thick
in Holt county. It varies from
about 200 feet in the northeast
(Mr. Mitchell is Nebraska soil
scientist for the Soil Conserva
tion Service, headquartering at
Lincoln. This article w$s writ
ten especially for The Fron
tier’s Soil Conservation issue.)
part of the county to about 700
feet in the northwest. It repre
sents a period of deposition of |
clay in a large sea that at one j
time in past geological ages cov
ered most of the central portion
of the United States. Because
the deposit is made up of fine
sediments, the deposition proon- ;
j bly took place during a time
when the water was quite calm. ,
Geologists believe that this de
position was largely from sedi
ments brought into the inland
sea from land areas outside and
around this sea. The soils that :
have developed on the Pierre
1 shale have one characteristic in
common, namely, their heavy
subsoil. >
The surface soils are for the
most part very dark, and may
range in texture from a loose,
silty material that is easy to cul
tivate to one that is quite hea
vy, and difficult to plow. Much
' of the land occupied by these
j soils is too steep to cultivate and
'for this reason has been left in
grass.
There are, however, some ar
eas where these soils are found
on gently rolling slopes or near
ly level stream terraces that are
now 25 to 50-feet above the val
ley floor. Where there is a suf
ficient depth of surface soil (18
to 24-inches) over the heavy
shale subsoil and rainfall is
plentiful, good yields can be ob
tained. Where erosion has been
severe, and the surface soil has
been removed, cultivation is dif- j
’ ficult. Crop yields are reduced
to a minimum chiefly because !
water cannot be stored in them
and the plants die due to the
drouthy condition.
These eroded soils take up rain
very slowly and as a result much
of it runs off. For this reasor
farmers who cultivate this son
of land should use every means
possible to keep their surface
soils in place and maintain them
in condition to absorb all the
moisture that falls. This can be
done by saving the crop residue
and working them into the sur
face.
OGALLALA FORMATION —
The next younger formation or
which many of the soils of Holl
county have developed is the Og
allala formation. It is the bed
rock that underlies much of the
area north of O’Neill on the Holt
table and is exposed in many
places in the county. It rests di
rectly on the Pierre shale. One
of the most extensive exposures
occurs along the valley slopes of
Eagle creek. __
Here, it has a light gray to
white color and it is made up
chiefly of sand that is loosely
cemented with lime. Several
other types of materials are in
cluded in this formation but for
the most part the limey sand
stones predominate.
The Ogallala formation repre
ients a deposit of comparatively
:oarse material eroded from the
*ocky Mountains to the west and
;pread over the plains by streams
hat once covered this area. Va
rious divisions of this formation
:an be traced from Texas to
south Dakota. Some of the limey
ieposits are the result of lime
... w .. 1 n,Vsi/.Vs in
** - - * — — —
ponds or lakes on the surface of
the landscape during that time.
Other limey deposits are "cal
iche” that is formed by the evap
oration at or near the surface of
ground water that carries consid
erable quantities of lime in solu
tion. Thq sandy and gravelly
horizons that are found in this
formation were brought in by
eastward or southeastbound
flowing streams.
The soils that have developed
on the Ogallala have moderate
ly dark, silty, or slightly sandy
surface soils that are about 10 or
12 inches thick under native veg
etation. The next 8 to 10 inches
below the surface soil is usual
ly a light gray to almost white
I when dry silty material.
This is the material which
some farmers call “sugary" be
cause of its behavior when ex
posed to water. It appears to
melt away like sugar as water
runs over it in the small gully
heads. Below this latter zone or
horizon are materials that may
be quite variable. It may be
quite sandy or gravelly or it may
be solid "caliche.”
The soils developed on the Og
allala are variable as to depth.
In places where there is 24- to
36-inches of relatively loose soil
material over the unweathered
parent material and erosion has
not been sereve, good crop yields
can be expected in years of ade
quate moisture supply. Past ex
perience has proven that where
the underlying rock is within 6
to 12-inches of the surface, crop
production is quite hazardous.
Most of the land of this type
has been left in grass for this
reason.
The conservation measures re
! quired to protect this type of
soil are also variable. Where
erosion is severe the crop yields
are low. On the steeper slopes |
this land is best suited to perma
nent grass. Where the sloping
land is not severely eroded, ter
races, grasses, waterways, and
good rotations that include fre
quent legume crops arp advisa
ble. Where this soil occurs on
nearly level areas, protection
from wind erosion is necessary
along with good crop rotations, j
PLEASTOCENE GRAVELS —
Resting directly on top of the
light gray or nearly white Oga
llala formation is a deposit of
sand and gravel that varies in
thickness from 0 to 60 feet. It
will average around 40 feet
These sands and gravels were
deposited in this area by north
eastward flowing streams. The
streams >vere partially blocked to
the east by glaciers, causing
them to deposit their gravel
loads over the tableland areas.
The surface of these deposits was
! comparatively level. Their vari
ation in thickness is due largely
to the uneven surface of the un
derlying Ogallala formation.
The establishment of a drain
age system and valleys by head
ward erosion of streams on the
nearly level tableland has left !
extensive exposures in many
places in the county. The soils
that have developed on the grav
el deposits are mostly too shal- j
low and porous to hold moisture, j
For this reason, there are
large areas on the Holt table
that have remained in grass.
On the basis of observations it
appears that where there is
less than 16- to 18-inches of soil
material ov,vr the gravel, the
soils are too droughty for cul
tivation.
When there is 24- to 36-inches
there seems to be sufficient mois- 1
ture holding capacity to produce 1
fair crop yields when the mois
ture supply has been favorable.
Only the nearly level or gently
sloping areas are cultivated. The
conservation program on them
should include pilictices that con
serve moisture, such as residue
management, stubble mulch till
age, strip cropping and protect
the surface from wind erosion.
I'wind-laid deposits —
The wind deposits in Holt
county are the principal parent
materials of the soils and are of
three general types. They are
(1) silty (loess) deposits that are
the parent materials of the good,
deep, dark farming soils of the
county; (2) the mixed silty and
sandy deposits, also deep and
quite dark, that are farmed ex
tensively; and (3) sandhills.
The dark silty soils are not ex
tensive in the county. The larg
est areas are east and northwest
of Town Hall in Shields town
i ship and north and east of Page
in the easteni part of the coun
ty. The topsoils are dark brown
or dark giayish-brown • and are
about 10- to 14-inches thick
where erosion has not been ac
| tive. There is enough sand mix
ed with the silt on these soils to
make cultivation quite easy. For
the most part these soils occur
on nearly level to gently rolling
areas and are subject to only mi
nor wind erosion losses.
The conservation treaimient
on these soils should include
protection from wind erosion
by use of strip cropping, stub
ble much tillage, and crop res
idue management. Crop rota
tions that maintain a high level
of fertility and soil structure
should be used.
The soils that have developed
on mixed silts and sand depos
its are good agricultural soils.
They are found extensively in
the area north of the Elkhorn
river. They are closely associat
ed with the soils that have silty
parent materials and produce
nearly as good crop yields. The
topsoils are about the same
thickness as the silty soils. Be
cause of the fact that there are
some variations that include
sandy profiles in this group of
-soils, they are subject to more
severe wind erosion. Also, since
the relief is undulating to rpll
ing, there is an additional haz
I ard from water erosion.
The conservation treatment re
quired for these soils should in
clude adequate protection from
wind erosion by the use of cover
crops, strip cropping, contouring,
terraces, windbreaks, and care
ful management of crop residues.
Moisture conservation and main
tenance of fertility should also
be used.
SANDHILLS —
The major portion of the sand
hills area of the county is locat
ed south of the Elkhorn riv
er. The soils in this area have
thin (4- to 6-inch) topsoils that
are very sandy. Past experience
has proven that this area is best
adapted for the production of
hay and pasture.
The tall grasses grown in the
area are one of the finest crgps
produced in Holt county. There
are three major sandy soils that
can be described in the area.
These are closely associated with
the surface relief and are separ
ated on the basis of the quanti
ty of finer material mixed with
the sand and the dark colored
humus content. The dune sandy
or “choppy hills” are almost de
void of topsoil and are subject
to severe losses by wind. In
some instances the instability of
the dunes has been caused by
over-grazing the sparse grass
cover. The conservation treat
ment of this type of land is a
matter of adjusting the number
| of livestock so as to attain and
I maintain a mixture of grasses
that will give the maximum pro
ductivity of forage on these soils
with the moisture available. It
also involves cautious grazing
practices and ample livestock
watering places.
When this land is over-graz
ed and the sand commences to
mov^, the problem of reestab
lishing grass stands end stabil
izing them again is very diffi
cult. Damage to the adjoining
(Continued on page 15.)
LYNCH NEWS
Mr .and Mrs. Don Allen re
turned home Thursday, February
15, after a week’s visit in Omaha.
Mrs. Albert Kalk<?wski was
hostess to the Excello projecfc
club Monday, February 19, with
Mrs. Arden Darnell as assisting
hostess. Mrs. Glenn Davy pre
sented the lesson on “Main Dish
Meals.” The souffle cheese sand
wiches and sausage pie made in
the demonstration were served
during the lunch. The hostesses
served fruit salad, cookies and
coffee.
Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Mills visit- &
ed at Eldon Mills’ home at Dor
sey Sunday, February 13.
Truman Young, of Herrick, S.
D., brought his son here for con- i
saltation with doctors Thursday, f
February 15. y
Pat Cassidy and family visited
at the Joe Loock home, south of
the Niobrara river near Phoenix,
on Sunday, February 18.
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