LOCATION CLIFTYCREEK IN
Established Series
Rev. MLW-TJE
11/2021
CLIFTYCREEK SERIES
The Cliftycreek series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in up to 51 cm (20 inches) of loess or silty material and in the underlying loamy till and clayey residuum overlying bedrock high in carbonates. The Cliftycreek soils are on till plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 40 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1016 mm (40 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C (52 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Cliftycreek silt loam, on a northeast-facing, 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 226 meters (740 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; 2 percent rock fragments; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]
Bt1--20 to 36 cm (8 to 14 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent rock fragments; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 25 cm (0 to 10 inches) thick]
2Bt2--36 to 76 cm (14 to 30 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
2Bt3--76 to 124 cm (30 to 49 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
2Bt4--124 to 142 cm (49 to 56 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent rock fragments; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
2Bt5--142 to 163 cm (56 to 64 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent rock fragments; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches).]
3Bt6--163 to 178 cm (64 to 70 inches); dark brown (10YR 3/3) silty clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm; many distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent rock fragments; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. [5 to 20 cm (2 to 8 inches) thick]
3R--178 to 203 cm (70 to 80 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and very pale brown (10YR 7/4) limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Bartholomew County, Indiana; about 1/2 mile southwest of Hartsville; 1,200 feet east and 400 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 1, T. 9 N., R. 7 E.; USGS Hartsville, Indiana topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 15 minutes 39.2 seconds N. and long. 85 degrees 42 minutes 8.9 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 611945 easting and 4346536 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 152 to 203 cm (60 to 80 inches)
Depth to lithic contact: 152 to 203 cm (60 to 80 inches)
Thickness of the loess or silty material: 0 to 51 cm (0 to 20 inches)
Rock fragments: dominantly of mixed lithology in the till, and limestone or dolostone in the residuum
Particle-size control section: averages between 25 and 34 percent clay
Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silt loam or loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 8 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
Some pedons have a BE, BA, or E horizon
Bt horizon (formed in loess):
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 8 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral
2Bt horizon (formed in till):
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam, silty clay loam, or less commonly silty clay or clay
Rock fragment content: 0 to 8 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
3Bt, 3BC, or 3C horizon (residuum):
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay, or the gravelly or channery analogs of these textures
Clay content: 35 to 60 percent
Sand content: 3 to 18 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 20 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline; carbonates are present in some pedons
3R layer: limestone or dolostone bedrock
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Amanda,
Belmont,
Belmore,
Caprell,
Chili,
Conestoga,
Crouse,
Gallman,
Greybrook,
Hickory,
High Gap,
Hollinger,
Kanawha,
Kidder,
Kosciusko, LeRoy,
Lumberton,
Martinsville,
Military,
Mocksville,
Ockley,
Pignut,
Princeton,
Relay,
Richardville,
Riddles,
Senachwine,
Skelton,
Strawn,
Wawaka,
Wawasee, and
Woodbine series. All of these soils except Gallman, Greybrook, Hickory, Kanawha, Martinsville, Ockley, Princeton, Riddles, and Skelton soils are less than 152 cm (60 inches) to the base of the argillic horizon. Gallman, Greybrook, Hickory, Kanawha, Martinsville, Ockley, Princeton, Riddles, and Skelton soils have less than 35 percent clay in the lower part of the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Cliftycreek soils are on planar or convex slopes on till plains of Wisconsinan age. They are in areas of bedrock controlled topography. Slope ranges from 0 to 40 percent. The soils formed in up to 51 cm (20 inches) of loess or silty material and in the underlying loamy till and clayey residuum overlying bedrock high in carbonates. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 914 to 1067 mm (36 to 42 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 10 to 12 degrees C (50 to 54 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Crosby,
Fincastle,
Miami,
Milton, and
Senachwine soils. The somewhat poorly drained Crosby and Fincastle soils are on adjacent, lower lying landform positions. The moderately well drained Miami soils are on similar positions. Milton soils have bedrock at shallower depths and are on similar or lower lying positions. Senachwine soils are formed entirely in till and are on similar positions.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is low to high depending on slope gradient. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high. Permeability is moderate in the loess, and moderate or moderately slow in the underlying till and residuum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly cropped to corn, soybeans, small grains, and forage. Uncultivated areas are in forest and are used for pasture in some places. Native vegetation is deciduous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Indiana; MLRA 111A. The series is of small extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bartholomew County, Indiana, 2002.
REMARKS: Cliftycreek soils were formerly mapped as Milton soils in Bartholomew County, Indiana. Closer study showed that the bedrock is deeper than originally mapped in some areas. Cliftycreek soils are anticipated to occur in adjoining counties.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 20 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 20 to 178 cm (Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, 2Bt5, 3Bt6 horizons).
Lithic contact: at 178 cm (top of 3R layer).
Representative data mapunit for this pedon is DMU ID 155541 in MO 11.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Transect data is on file at the MLRA Project Office in Indianapolis.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.