We are thrilled to have a team of 12 students competing in this year's Region V Soil Judging competition hosted by the the University of Minnesota in Crookston, MN.
This will be the first competition experience for most of the
team, and they couldn't be more excited! Huge thanks to our donors and
supporters for making this learning experience possible.
Our spirits are high and our hands are dirty after 2 days of practice across the striking landscapes and soils formed by Glacial Lake Agassiz in the Red River Valley in NW Minnesota. As we have traversed one of the flattest landscapes in the world, students have built new skills identifying subtle landforms and slopes on the lake plain.
Our first day of practice was focused on soils that have developed on the former beach ridges and beach complexes deposited by the the shifting margins of the lake. For our second day of practice, we saw beautiful examples of soils formed in glaciolacustrine parent material on the flat lake plain.
We are excited for one more day of practice before the competition!
A Calciudoll formed on a beach ridge complex
Practice using a clinometer to measure slope
A Calciudoll formed in the lake plain, notable for varves visible at the bottom of the profile.
These thin layers are varves - thin annual layers of sediment
