The upper part of the solum formed in 15 to 25 inches of loess or silty material and the lower part in reddish paleosols formed in glacial drift of early Wisconsin Age. Summers are hot and winters are cold. Mean annual temperature is between 45 and 57 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 28 to 40 inches. Argyle soils are intermediate in properties between Pecatonica soils and the Durand soils which are on the same landscape. The Pecatonica soils have thinner dark A1 horizons and thicker or lighter colored A2 horizons.
Durand soils have mollic epipedons.
Well to moderately well drained. Runoff is medium to rapid. Permeability is moderate. Much of the Argyle soil is under cultivation. Crops most commonly grown are corn, soybeans, small grain, and meadow.