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<br />. <br />Weld County, Colorado, Northern Part <br /> <br />how this survey was made <br /> <br />Soil scientists made this survey to learn what soils are <br />in the survey area, where they are, and how they can be <br />used. They observed the steepness, length, and shape <br />of slopes; the size of streams and the general pattern of <br />drainage; the kinds of native plants or crops; and the <br />kinds of rock. They dug many holes to study soil profiles. <br />A profile is the sequence of natural layers, or horizons, in <br />a soil. It extends from the surface down into the parent <br />material, which has been changed very little by leaching <br />or by plant roots. . <br />The soil scientists recorded the characteristics of the <br />profiles they studied and compared those profiles with <br />others in nearby counties and in more distant places. <br />They classified and named the soils according to <br />nationwide uniform procedures. They drew the <br />boundaries .of the soils on aerial photographs. These <br />photographs show trees, buildings, fields, roads, and <br />other details that help in drawing boundaries accurately. <br />The soil maps at the back of this publication were <br />prepared from aerial photographs. <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />The areas shown on a soil map are called map units. <br />Most map units are made up of one kind of soil. Some <br />are made up of two or more kinds. The map units in this <br />survey area are described under "General soil map <br />units" and "Detailed soil map units." <br />While a soil survey is in progress, samples of some <br />soils are taken for laboratory measurements and for <br />engineering tests. All soils are field tested to determine <br />their characteristics. Interpretations of those <br />characteristics may be modified during the survey. Data <br />are assembled from other sources, such as test results, <br />records, field experience, and state and local specialists. <br />For example, data on crop yields under defined <br />management are assembled from farm records and from <br />field or plot experiments on the same kinds of soil. <br />But only part of a soil survey is done when the soils <br />have been named, described, interpreted, and delineated <br />on aerial photographs and when the laboratory data and <br />other data have been assembled. The mass of detailed <br />information then needs to be crganized so that it can be <br />used by farmers, rangeland and woodland managers, <br />engineers, planners, developers and builders, home <br />buyers, and others. <br />