This week, five soil judgers are in Canyon, Texas for the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) soil judging contest! We described four practice pits and spent the afternoon exploring Palo Duro State Park.
Monday morning was spent in loess hills 15 minutes west of Palo Duro Canyon. The team observed the pedogenesis of calcium carbonate accumulation down a portion of a catena (and observed the rest on Tuesday).
This profile was on the hillslope’s shoulder and besides having amazing colors (5YR 3/4 and 5YR 4/6s), we saw secondary calcium carbonate accumulation starting at 40cm.
We then went downslope to the backslope and found secondary carbonates starting at 22cm - closer to the surface due to a higher slope, which causes more runoff and less infiltration. These pits, and two others described on Tuesday, illustrate the effect of slope and water infiltration on depth to carbonates. In our part of Minnesota, we do not see carbonate accumulations like these, so we had a blast learning about these!
After lunch, we visited Palo Duro Canyon. This is the second largest canyon in the USA and has some fascinating geology. Our highlights were the “red beds” at the base of the canyon and gypsum bands. These Gophers look forward to learning more about the High Plains throughout the week. Stay tuned!
