Daily Dose of Happiness US # 23 - Missouri Menfro Soil
The “Menfro” is the Missouri State Soil and it a has a fasinating history. Daniel Boone first settled west of the Mississippi River on a Menfro soil. The first Missouri state capitol building in St. Charles, the present state capitol building in Jefferson City, and the governor’s mansion are all built on Menfro soils.
The Menfro series are deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils formed in thick loess (wind-blown) deposits on upland ridgetops, backslopes and benches adjacent to the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and their major tributaries. Menfro soil covers more than 315,000 hectares in Missouri. Since Menfro soils tend to occur on steep slopes, preventing erosion is important.
Every soil can be separated into three size fractions called sand, silt and clay. The combination of sand, silt and clay particles affect how the soil feels and determines many soil properties.
In the Menfro soils, the top layer of soil that we plow and plant seeds in (topsoil) is fairly thin, typically around 7.5 cm with 2-4% organic matter. The colour is dark brown when moist and the soil texture is usually a silt loam or silty clay loam. The subsoil, below where a farmer plows, is mostly silty clay loam in texture and about 100 cm deep. The subsoil has a yellowish-brown color, less organic matter than the topsoil
Menfro soils (loess) are highly productive agricultural soils used for corn, soybeans, small grain, and specialty crops of tobacco, grapes, vegetables and fruits, but on steep slopes where the topsoil layer is thin, they are more commonly used as pastures for grazing and for deciduous hardwood timber production.
Logging Requirments:
The posted coordinates take you to a dirt hiking trail on Bangert Island with excellent, exposed examples of Menfro Soil.
Email or message me from my Geocaching profile the answers the following questions:
1.What type of soil is Menfro?
2. What does the soil at GZ feel like to the touch?
3. What colour is the soil at GZ?
4. Looking at the layers of the soil in the cut out at the posted coordinates, do you see a difference between the top soil and the subsoil?
5. Post a pic of yourself or a personal item at the massive cottonwood tree at N 38 45.731 W 90 29.595 (see sample picture in gallery)
This earthcache is only available during Park Hours hours: Dawn to Dusk
This EarthCache adheres to the principles and ethics of geocaching and Leave No Trace. Use established trails only. Damage to the site is unacceptable. Please be mindful of fragile ecosystems. Please enjoy the area by collecting memories — not samples.
Permission to place this Earthcache was given by: St. Charles County Parks
Resources:
Soil Science Society of America
https://www.agronomy.org/files/s4t/k12outreach/mo-state-soil-booklet.pdf
Britannica.com
https://www.britannica.com/science/loess
Missouri State Health
https://health.mo.gov/living/environment/onsite/pdf/SoilsMissouriSeries.pdf
USDA Conservation
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/soil/soil-science
St. Charles Country Parks
https://www.sccmo.org/2279/Parks-Recreation
