56 
SOIL SURVEY OF BUFFALO COUNTY. 
The soil is generally a grayish drab or mottled brown loam on a 
sandy loam subsoil. The surface heavy layer is often only 2 to 
8 inches deep, but may be as much as 3 feet deep in the larger 
open areas. Coarse sand layers may be found in the subsoil in 
shallow places and bluish sticky clay layers are also found where 
the soil is deeper. In Section 1 southwest of Nelson, the soil of 
this phase is a mealy chocolate-brown loamy material containing 
much organic matter, fine silt, and coarse sand grains. This is 
6 to 10 inches deep on dark brown sandy loam. 
None of this phase of the soil has ever been cultivated and 
it now has little agricultural use, the amount of hay cut on it 
being limited because of the generally coarse nature of the 
grasses which grow on most of these low areas. 
GENESEE SILT LOAM. 
This is a compact mealy chocolate-brown silt loam becoming 
lighter brown in color at 8 to 12 inches. Fine and very fine sand 
particles are found in the subsoil in increasing amounts until 
at about 16 to 20 inches the soil often becomes a fine sandy loam 
with yellowish brown sandy loam at 20 to 30 inches. The depth 
of surface soil varies from 8 to 30 inches. In low wet marshy 
places the soil is a grayish or bluish mottled color with a sticky 
clay loam subsoil underlaid at greater depth by sandy loam 
material. 
This type covers about 17 square miles of the bottom lands 
from Alma north along the Mississippi and Chippewa Rivers. 
The surface is level with some small knolls and is cut by old 
sloughs and drainage courses or slightly lower marshy areas. 
The elevations are greatest near the larger streams and the best 
drained areas border the Chippewa and Mississippi Rivers. 
Like the other Genesee types the soil was deposited by over¬ 
flow waters of the rivers and is still subject to overflow in time 
of high water. 
The vegetation consists of heavy timber composed largely of 
big trees. Elm, soft maple, oak, and cotton wood are interspersed 
with more open glades covered with a dense growth of tall blue 
joint grass. Lower more continually flooded marshy areas are 
covered with coarser grasses, reeds, and sweet flags as well as 
patches of brush-alder, willow, and birch. 
