Types of Soil in Palatine, Illinois

Lake Michigan was formed by ancient glaciers and so was Illinois soil.sunrise over lake michigan in door county wisconsin image by David Smith from Fotolia.com

Palatine is nestled in the northeastern corner of Illinois just west of Lake Michigan. The large freshwater lake is responsible for the type of soil in the area and the high water table. Cook County, Illinois, where Palatine is located, has a humid climate suitable for the development of wetlands.

Loess

Loess is a parent material, or a deposit of minerals and organic waste which forms a regions' soil. The primary parent material for most of Illinois soils is loess, occupying 63 percent of the state's land area, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Because loess is a silt, a clay-like substance, the particles are very compact and there is little aeration in the soil. For gardening you may want to mix sand or another additives with large particles into your garden soil to maintain proper drainage and oxygen.

Mollisol is a type of soil characterized by decaying plant matter from grassland ecosystems. It is rich soil recognizable by a dark, thick surface horizon according to the University of Idaho. This soil is common along the Great Plains of the United States and most of eastern Illinois. There are seven subcategories of mollisols and Palatine is abundant in Udolls Mollisols. This refers to mollisols of a humid climate. Aquolls is another subcategory found in north eastern Illinois and it refers to a soil when the water table is relatively near the surface.

Hydric soil refers to soil that is water saturated through some or all of the growing season. These soils give rise to wetlands supporting hydrophytic plant life, or plant life that can withstand very low oxygen levels in soil. Most of eastern Illinois is covered with hydric soil including Cook County and Palatine according to a hydric soil map from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Because Palatine sits close to Lake Michigan the water table is high and the soil is saturated. For gardening you may consider raised beds if root rot becomes a problem.

According to the Web Soil Survey application available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture the soil in Cook country, IL is slightly acidic. On the PH scale is falls between 5.8 and 6.7. On the PH scale a number below seven indicates acidity while a number higher than 7 indicates a basic substance. Water is neutral resting on the number seven on the PH scale.