LOCATION BUGCREEK MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, nonacid, frigid Typic Humaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Bugcreek extremely stony sandy loam with a concave slope of 1 percent in an inter-drumlin drainageway. The vegetation is mixed deciduous and coniferous forest. Elevation of about 459 meters. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 15 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) extremely stony sandy loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; common coarse and medium roots and many fine and very fine; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations; about 7 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles and 40 percent stones and boulders; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (20 to 51 centimeters thick)
Bw1--15 to 30 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) extremely stony sandy loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few coarse roots, common medium roots and many fine and very fine; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 7 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles and 40 percent stones and boulders; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--30 to 51 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cobbly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few medium roots and common fine and very fine; many medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) Fe concentrations and common medium faint gray (10YR 5/1) Fe depletions; about 8 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles and 3 percent stones and boulders; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw3--51 to 81 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/3) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots; many medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations and common medium faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) Fe depletions; about 8 percent gravel, 4 percent cobbles and 2 percent stones and boulders; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw4--81 to 107 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/3) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; many medium prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) and yellowish red (5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations and common fine prominent gray (5Y 5/1) Fe depletions; about 8 percent gravel, 4 percent cobbles and 2 percent stones and boulders; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw5--107 to 147 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few very fine roots; many medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations and few medium prominent gray (5Y 5/1) Fe depletions; about 3 percent gravel, 4 percent cobbles and 2 percent stones and boulders; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 94 to 145 centimeters)
2BCd--147 to 203 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly sandy loam; moderate very coarse and extremely coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium platy, few 2 to 3 millimeter oblique fractures 15 centimeters to 1 meter apart; very firm; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations; about 25 percent gravel and 8 percent cobbles; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA)93A-Superior Stony and Rocky Loamy Plains and Hills, Western Part St. Louis County (Duluth Part), Minnesota subset; about 3.5 miles southeast of Markham; located about 2,400 feet south and 1,400 feet east of the northwest corner of section 8, T. 55 N., R. 14 W.; USGS Whiteface Reservoir Quadrangle, latitude 47 degrees 15 minutes 51 seconds N. and longitude 92 degrees 8 minutes 52 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the loamy drift and depth to the 2BCd (densic contact)--100 to 150 centimeters
Depth to free carbonates--greater than 200 centimeters
Some pedons have an O horizon.
A horizon:
Hue--7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--extremely stony sandy loam, extremely stony fine sandy loam, extremely stony loam or their very cobbly, very stony, cobbly and stony analogues
Rock fragment content--total 15 to 70 percent; with 5 to 15 percent gravel, 5 to 65 percent cobbles and 5 to 65 percent stones and boulders
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid
upper part of the Bw horizon:
Hue--7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value--3 to 6
Chroma--2 to 4
Texture--extremely stony sandy loam, extremely stony fine sandy loam, extremely stony loam or their very cobbly, very stony, cobbly and stony analogues
Rock fragment content by volume--total 15 to 70 percent; with 5 to 15 percent gravel, 5 to 65 percent cobbles and 5 to 65 percent stones and boulders
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid
lower part of the Bw horizon:
Hue--7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--2 to 4
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or their gravelly and cobbly analogues
Rock fragment content by volume--total 2 to 20 percent; with 2 to 15 percent gravels, 0 to 7 percent cobbles and 0 to 7 percent stones and boulders
Reaction--strongly acid to slightly acid
Some pedons have Bg horizons.
2BCd horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--3 or 4
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--gravelly sandy loam, gravelly coarse sandy loam, gravelly loamy sand or gravelly loamy coarse sand or their very gravelly analogues
Rock fragment content by volume--total 15 to 45 percent; with 15 to 35 percent gravels, 0 to 10 percent cobbles and 0 to 2 percent stones and boulders
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
The 2BCd horizon typically has 1 to 3 millimeter oblique fractures spaced 10 centimeters to 3 meters apart.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Giese,
Hulligan, and
Kapla series.
Giese--have 10 percent or less rock fragments in the upper third of the series control section and are underlain by dense
Superior
Lobe till with 2.5YR or 5YR hue
Hulligan and Kapla--do not have a densic contact in the series control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--friable loamy drift (see remarks) and the underlying dense, firm and very firm, Rainy Lobe till of the Late Wisconsinan glaciation
Landform--in drainageways and depressions on moraines and drumlins, and in inter-drumlin areas on the edges of bogs and swamps.
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Mean annual air temperature--2 to 4 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--635 to 760 millimeters
Annual freeze free period--120 to 175 days
Elevation above sea level--185 to 640 meters
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Near the type location, these are the
Brimson,
Nevens and
Toimi soils.
Brimson--are on higher lying or more sloping positions on the landscape and are in the Aquic Dystric Eutrudepts subgroup
Nevens--are on plane to slightly concave footslopes and on slightly higher lying positions on the landscape and are in the Typic Epiaquepts subgroup
Toimi--are on higher lying or more sloping positions on the landscape and are in the Oxyaquic Eutrudepts subgroup
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--very poorly drained--these soils frequently have perched seasonal high saturation at the surface during spring and fall in normal years
Saturated hydraulic conductivity is 1.00 to 100.00 micrometers per second (moderately high or high) in the loamy drift and 0.01 to 0.10 micrometers per second (low) in the underlying dense till
USE AND VEGETATION: Native vegetation is mixed deciduous and coniferous forest. Major tree species are balsam fir, tamarack, white cedar, black ash, willow and tag alder.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Laurentian Upland
Physiographic Province--Superior Upland Province
Physiographic sections--(undefined)
MLRA--Superior Stony and Rocky Loamy Plains and Hills, Western Part (93A)
LRR K; northeastern Minnesota
Extent--moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: St. Louis County, Minnesota, (Duluth subset), 2007.
REMARKS:
Particle size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
umbric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 15 centimeters (A horizon);
cambic horizon--the zone from 15 to 147 centimeters (Bw horizons);
Aquic condition based on a presumed positive reaction with alpha,alpha-dipyridyl during some part of the year in normal years. These soils do not show the normal reduced matrix colors typically associated with saturation and reducing conditions, however, field documentation verified saturation and aquic conditions;
isotic mineralogy based on 1500 kPa water to measured clay ratio of 0.6 or greater.
On referring to the upper parent material as drift": The deposits in the mantle of Bugcreek soils representative site's inter-drumlin landscape position mimic the deposits in the mantle of the drumlin uplands. The glacial history and field observations support a basal dense lodgment till overlain by ablation till or drift. Evidence of sorting and stratification is not sufficient to characterize the deposits as glaciofluvial.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006