Typical soil profile formed on glacial till. Thick dark organic matter layer influenced by thousands of years of grass cover overlays lighter parent material. Whitish coloration on the surface of the dark layer are salts of Ca and Mg that have leached out of the profile and precipitated on the profile surface. Location is in Minnehaha county. Image courtesy of Bruce Kunze, NRCS, Brookings SD.

Eastern Soils and Agriculture