I'm a scientist...
I love knowing what is going on around me, and why things are the way they are. While I studied Atmospheric Science in college I also ended up with a Geology minor. I'll use a bit of that knowledge alongside my general curiosity in some background of the geology beneath our new home. I grew up in rural Iowa surrounding by farmland on rich, dark loam soil that came as a result of glaciers and their alluvial plains. Moving to Kansas City obviously resulted in an urban setting, but was in the 'irregular plains' and more specifically within the Osage Cuestas. Cuesta is a spanish word for hill or cliff, and the eastern Kansas cuestas are a series of east-facing ridges with gentling rolling plains in between. Limestone and shale are present underneath the top soil, which includes some oil and gas plays. Southwest of Kansas City features many small oil wells working the small play of oil/gas.
I love the prairie, and enjoyed visiting the few spots in Iowa that have been returned to their native state. Kansas has the Tallgrass Prairie, and in fact the Flint Hills features millions of adjacent acres of original prairie that has never been disturbed. Most of that can be attributed to the lack of top soil which made growing row crops uneconomical. The Flint Hills is one of the best locations for livestock in the entire country thanks to the native tall grasses and variety of plants. These prairies aren't maintenance free though, as invasive plants and the red cedar attempt to take away the land. Prescribed fire is the most beneficial and economical way to control and maintain the prairie with millions of acres typically burned each year.
Our new home is near the intersection of the Flint Hills, the aforementioned Osage Cuestas, and the Loess and Glacial Hills drift which extends northeast into Nebraska, Iowa, and northwest Missouri. It is delicted by the darker brown color in northeast Kansas in the image below.
This is the only glaciated region in Kansas, having two glaciers, the most recent being approximately 600,000 years ago covering the land and depositing thick deposits of silt and other rocks, and even similar glacial drift as you'd find in Iowa. Many creeks and lowlands are mixed with rolling hills and a combination of grassland and cropland. Thr Little Soldier Creek is a mere 100 yards east of our property line, which during heavy rain means we see a lot of runoff that fills a drainage gully that runs through the middle of the property. It also brings even a bit more variety into the plant life. The soil at our location is classified as 'Martin silty clay loam' which has ~6" of the loam (dark) topsoil before transitioning to more silty clay. Soil is typically around 60" deep before reaching the shale and limestone rock formations. The water table is not deep, typcially found only 24 inches beneath and is prevalent in numerous ponds including our own in the northeast corner of our property. As you've seen from previous posts we do see quite a few native wildflowers and plants, however the back half of the property also suffers with an intense red cedar population which limits other plant growth and eliminates water resources. Did you know a mature red cedar can use more than 15 gallons of water per day? I hope to remedy that issue and attempt to bring a mix of grasses and wildflowers back into the mix. Clearing this area will also allow me to get that big home garden going! Below is a satellite view of Jackson County, Kansas (our approximate location is the orange crosshairs) that should help show the creeks and associated low land trees with the combination of grassland and cropland too.
