2 SOIL SURVEY OF PAYNE PRAIRIE, FLORIDA. 



Alachua Sink. This creek enters from the east and, curving north- 

 ward, finds outlet into what is called Alachua Sink on the northern 

 boundary of the Prairie. This creek is the outlet of Newnans Lake 

 and a chain of lakes connected with it. Xewnans Lake is only a mile 

 or two northeast of the eastern end of Payne Prairie. 



Payne Prairie is intermittently covered by water which has been 

 in the past of sufficient depth to permit the use of small steamboats. 

 It then goes dry or nearly dry for a few years and again is covered 

 with water. For the last three years the basin has been practically 

 dry, but the rains of the past winter have filled Newnans Lake and 

 the bodies of water associated with it to overflowing and their 

 waters are discharging by Prairie Creek into Payne Prairie faster 

 than they can be carried out by Alachua Sink so that at the present 

 time the waters are rising and all except a border of a few hundred 

 3 r ards along the margin of the Prairie is under water ranging in 

 depth from a few inches over the general surface to several feet in 

 the troughs and depressions. 



Five types of soil were encountered within the Prairie proper. 

 These are all closely related and vary according to position. Having 

 been covered by water more or less and supporting a rank-growing 

 vegetation of weeds, grasses, and sedges, there has accumulated 

 considerable organic matter in the surface from the decay of this 

 vegetation. 



Four of these soils, under the soil classification, belong to the 

 Portsmouth series, having dark to mucky surface soils and drab- 

 colored subsoils. The fifth type is the Leon sand, being the pond 

 phase of the type. 



The description of the different types as encountered is as 

 follows : 



Portsmouth sandy loam. This type is found as a continuous 

 border around the Prairie extending from the margin out on an 

 average about one-fourth mile. It dips slightty from the margin 

 toward the center. The change in elevation, however, is slight. It 

 consists of a black loamy to mucky medium sand, in a few small 

 areas practically muck, ranging in depth from 8 to 15 inches. Below 

 this is a drab or brownish-drab, water-soaked, medium-textured sand, 

 and this in turn rests upon bluish-drab colored sandy clay, very 

 stiff and plastic, although quite sandy. In places it is a lighter drab 

 and it generally becomes lighter in color with depth. Some of it is 

 mottled slightly with brown and yellow and occasionally some 

 streaks of red occur. On the south side of the Prairie some spots 

 were found that were decidedly mottled. The clay is generally en- 

 countered within 24 inches of the surface, but the depth to this 

 material is extremely variable within short distances and places 

 were found where the drab sand continued to a depth of more than 



