To better understand the rich soil vital to the health of the Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem, it is useful to understand the characteristics of "Loess", one of the main constituents of "PrairyErth".
The Loess video computer-generated voice is creepy, otherwise, the video is informative. [Note: Being a German term, "loess" is not pronounced "lois", rather it is pronounced between "lerse" and "luss" (Strahler and Strahler, 1997).]
By getting to stop, touch, and collect samples of the Loess at Vicksburg in 2015 was the fulfillment of a "Bucket List" (or Geo-Bucket List) item. I had driven by the I-20 outcrops for years, but with family members in the car (wife, kids) stopping along the I-20 exposures was a non-winner.
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These images were taken behind a motel, south of I-20, just east of Exit 2, i.e., it takes a little navigating on the frontage road and/or surface streets.
Loess in the Vicksburg area was tunneled into and used as shelter during the Siege of Vicksburg, during the Civil War.
Loess in the Vicksburg area was tunneled into and used as shelter during the Siege of Vicksburg, during the Civil War.
In the "Grain Belt" states, west of the Mississippi River (primarily TX, KS, MO, IA, NE), loess is the parent material for the rich, black soils suitable for raising cereal grains (Strahler and Strahler, 1997).
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