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PHILLIPS COUNTY, COLORADO
<br />soil, generally on knobs, or in sags where the soil material
<br />has been reworked considerably and a thin mantle of loess
<br />deposited.
<br />The soils in this complex take in water well and have
<br />moderate to high available water holding capacity. Chisel -
<br />ing can be used to break up plowpans that form if the
<br />soils are tilled when wet. In a few spots, flat fragments of
<br />limestone as much as 3 to 12 inches in diameter cover the
<br />surface.
<br />These soils are suitable for cultivation or as rangeland.
<br />Nearly all of the acreage is cultivated. In dryfarmed fields
<br />winter small grains, sorghums, and similar crops grow
<br />well. Erosion can be controlled if stubble -mulch tillage is
<br />used and these soils are summer fallowed after crops are
<br />harvested. In some fields emergency tillage is needed for
<br />reducing soil blowing. In addition to small grains and
<br />sorghums, alfalfa, corn, and sugar beets are suited in
<br />irrigated areas. In these areas crop residue and manure
<br />should be worked into the soil. Irrigated crops respond if
<br />fertilizer is applied.
<br />On rangeland blue grama, western wheatgrass, little
<br />bluestem, and buffalograss grow well. These native grasses
<br />can be reseeded if the soil is moist and well covered with
<br />litter. Proper range use can be obtained by locating fences,
<br />water, and salt so that animals graze the entire area. Capa-
<br />bility units IIIs -2 (dryland) and IIe -2 (irrigated) ;
<br />Loamy Plains range site; windbreak suitability group 1.
<br />Wages- Campus -Weld foams, 3 to 5 percent slopes
<br />(WcQ occur mostly in the western part of the county. They
<br />occupy old, high land surfaces that have been covered with
<br />windblown silt. These areas generally occupy convex
<br />ridges that trend southeastward. Some areas of Wages and
<br />Campus soils are on side slopes adjacent to nearly level
<br />areas of Dawes loam, but the Weld soil does not occur
<br />in these areas.
<br />Wages soil makes up about 50 percent of the complex;
<br />Campus soil, 25 percent; and Weld soil, 15 percent. Wages
<br />and Campus soils are on the slopes, and the Weld soil is on
<br />the narrow, convex ridgetops. These soils are so closely
<br />associated that it is not practical to map. them separately.
<br />Each kind of soil has a profile similar to the one described
<br />for its series.
<br />Included in mapping were small areas of Platner soils
<br />that occupy the toe slopes of the ridges. Also included were
<br />a few small spots of Canyon soils near spots where lime-
<br />stone crops out. The limestone is a hazard to farm machin-
<br />ery. Also occurring were a few small areas having slopes of
<br />5 to 9 percent.
<br />These soils take in water moderately well. Their avail-
<br />able water holding capacity is moderate to high. Because
<br />slopes are gentle, runoff is considerable during heavy
<br />rains, which causes small rills to form. Plowpans tend to
<br />form in the soils if they are tilled when wet.
<br />Soils in this complex are suitable for limited cultivation
<br />or as rangeland. Nearly all the acreage is cultivated. A
<br />suitable practice in dryfarmed fields is stubble -mulch till-
<br />age for controlling erosion and maintaining tilth and fer-
<br />tility. Tilth and fertility are also maintained by working
<br />crop residue into the soil, emergency tillage, and construct-
<br />ing terraces on the longer slopes. These practices also con-
<br />serve moisture. In the irrigated areas, crops respond to
<br />applications of fertilizer.
<br />On rangeland grasses grow well if fences, water, and salt
<br />are properly placed so that livestock graze the entire range.
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<br />Seedlings emerge quickly if the range is reseeded when the
<br />soil is moist and has a good cover of litter. Then, grazing
<br />should be deferred until the young plants are well estab-
<br />lished. Capability units IVe-1 (dryland) and IIIe -5 (ir-
<br />rigated) ; Loamy Plains range site; windbreak suitability
<br />group 1.
<br />Wages - Eckley -Dix complex, 5 to 25 percent slopes
<br />jWeE) occupies areas along intermittent drainageways,
<br />principally Frenchman and Patent Creeks. These soils are
<br />so intermingled that it is not practical to map them
<br />separately.
<br />Included with these soils in mapping were nearly level
<br />to moderately sloping soils on stream terraces and chan-
<br />nel bottoms. The channel bottoms are shown on the soil
<br />map by a symbol for drainage. Also included were small
<br />areas where the soil is shallow over gravel and calcareous
<br />throughout.
<br />About 60 percent of this complex is Wages soils, 18 per-
<br />cent is Eckley soils, and 12 percent is Dix soils. Each kind
<br />of soil has the profile described as typical for its series. The
<br />rest of the complex consists of areas of Platner and Asca-
<br />lon soils. In hardland or sandy land areas, the Ascalon
<br />soils occur on the south banks of the streams and Platner
<br />soils are at the upper edges of side slopes.
<br />These soils take water at a moderate to rapid rate. Where
<br />they are shallow, their capacity to hold water is limited.
<br />If rains are heavy, runoff is considerable and causes rill
<br />erosion. Also, extra water from runoff frequently concen-
<br />trates and floods the Dix soils. Erosion control dams could
<br />be built to control this water.
<br />The complex is not suitable for cultivation, mainly be-
<br />cause it is erodible, shallow, and sloping to steep. The
<br />areas should be seeded with native grasses. In the more
<br />accessible areas, overgrazing is prevented by placing water,
<br />fences, and salt so that the livestock graze the entire range.
<br />Although reseeding may be difficult in some eroded or over-
<br />grazed areas, seeds germinate quickly if the soil is moist
<br />and covered with litter. Young plants should not be grazed
<br />until they are well established. Capability unit VIe--3
<br />(dryland) ; Wages soils are in I.,oam Plains range site and
<br />windbreak suitability group 1; Eckley soils are in Gravel
<br />Breaks range site and windbreak suitability group 3; and
<br />Dix soils are in Gravel Breaks range site and windbreak
<br />suitability group 2.
<br />Weld Series
<br />The Weld series consists of deep, well- drained, loamy
<br />soils that are nearly level to gently sloping. These soils are
<br />in the western and extreme northeastern parts of the
<br />county (fig. 9). They formed in loamy eolian, or loessal,
<br />materials. In a typical profile the surface layer is about
<br />6 inches thick. It is grayish - brown loam in the upper part
<br />and dark grayish -brown loam in the lower part.
<br />The subsoil is about 10 inches thick and noncalcareous.
<br />The upper part is very hard, dark grayish -brown clay,
<br />and the lower part is hard, dark grayish -brown very fine
<br />sandy loam.
<br />The underlying material is very pale brown loamy ma-
<br />terial that contains many fragments of limestone as much
<br />as 1 inch in diameter.
<br />Because the surface layer of the Weld soils is a thin
<br />deposit of loam overlying a very slowly permeable sub-
<br />soil, runoff is rapid on moderately sloping areas. Hard-
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