LOCATION ELEROY                  IL+IA WI

Established Series
Rev. GOW-JCD-AAC
09/2014

ELEROY SERIES

The Eleroy series consists of deep, moderately well drained soils on structural benches and rounded ridgetops. These soils formed loess and residuum from calcareous clayey shale. Slope ranges from 2 to 30 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 890 mm (35 inches), and the mean annual temperature is about 8.3 degrees C (47 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Eleroy silt loam on a south-facing, linear convex, 15 percent slope, moderately eroded, forested at an elevation of 228 meters (749 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 23 cm (6 to 9 inches) thick]

E--18 to 31 cm (7 to 12 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium to coarse platy structure parting to weak fine and medium granular; friable; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. [10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) thick]

BE--31 to 38 cm (12 to 15 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; some light gray (10YR 7/2) dry silt coatings on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. [8 to 13 cm (3 to 5 inches) thick]

Bt1--38 to 56 cm (15 to 22 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few very dark brown (10YR 2/2) iron and manganese oxides; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt2--56 to 81 cm (22 to 32 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few medium faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron and manganese oxides; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 38 to 64 cm (15 to 25 inches).]

2Bt3--81 to 104 cm (32 to 41 inches); olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) silty clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films; few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron and manganese oxides; 3 percent pebbles of igneous rock; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [10 to 31 cm (4 to 12 inches) thick]

2Cr--104 to 127 cm (41 to 50 inches); gray (5Y 6/1) clay shale; common coarse prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) stains of oxidized iron and manganese on fragment surfaces; massive; very firm; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Carroll County, Illinois; about 6 miles northwest of Lanark, 825 feet east and 495 feet north of the center of sec. 1, T. 25 N., R. 5 E. ; USGS Boone Branch topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 11 minutes 28 seconds N., and long. 89 degrees 52 minutes 04 seconds W; NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the loess: 76 to 140 cm (30 to 55 inches)
Depth to the paralithic contact: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 27 to 35 percent clay

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 22 to 35 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

A horizon [less than 13 cm (5 inches) thick]:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 22 to 35 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

E horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture; silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 22 to 35 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6, but some pedons have chroma of 2 or less below the upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the argillic horizon.
Texture: silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 27 to 35 percent
Consistence: firm
Redoximorphic features: present in the lower part
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

2Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: silty clay loam, silty clay or clay
Clay content: averages 35 to 50 percent
Consistence: firm or very firm
Redoximorphic features: present with high chroma colors
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

2Cr horizon:
Calcareous shale

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Baraboo, Birkbeck, Cadiz, Campton, Elco, Inton, Iona, Libre, Mayville, Minnith, Morningsun, Redbud, Rocheport, Rockfield, Somonauk, Uniontown, Winfield, and Zurich series. The, Birkbeck, Cadiz, Campton, Elco, Inton, Iona, Libre, Mayville, Minnith, Morningsun, Redbud, Rockfield, Somonauk, Uniontown, Winfield, and Zurich series do not have bedrock within 152 cm (60 inches). Baraboo soils have a quartzite lithic contact within a depth 102 cm (40 inches). Rocheport soils have a dolomite lithic contact within a depth of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Eleroy soils are on structural benches and rounded ridgetops. They formed in 76 to 140 cm (30 to 55 inches) of loess and in residuum from calcareous clayey shale. Slopes range from 2 to 30 percent. Mean annual temperature is 7.2 to 13.9 degrees C (45 to 57 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is 711 to 1016 mm (28 to 40 inches).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Derinda, Fayette, Keltner, Massbach and Rozetta soils. Derinda soils are on landscape positions similar to those of the Eleroy soils and have bedrock within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Fayette and Rozetta soils are on ridges or sides slopes at higher elevations and do not have bedrock within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). Keltner and Massbach soils are on landscape positions similar to those of the Eleroy soils and have mollic epipedons.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained--a saturated zone occurs within depths of 2 to 3.5 feet during March to June in most years and is considered perched. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second) in the loess and low to moderately low (0.01 to 0.42 micrometers per second) in the residuum. Permeability is moderate in the loess and very slow in the residuum. The potential for surface runoff is medium to very high.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. The principal crops are corn, soybeans, small grain, and meadow. The native vegetation is hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: northwestern Illinois, northeastern Iowa, and southwestern Wisconsin; LRRs K and M, MLRAs 95B, 105, and 108B. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lafayette County, Wisconsin, 1964.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--from a depth of 0 to 38 cm (0 to 15 inches) (Ap, E, and BE horizons)
Albic horizon--from a depth of 18 to 31 cm (7 to 12 inches) (E horizon)
Argillic horizon--from a depth of 38 to 104 cm (15 to 41 inches) (Bt1, Bt2 and 2Bt3 horizons)
paralithic contact--from a depth of 104 to 127 cm (41 to 50 inches) (2Cr horizon).

Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data from similar soils in the surrounding area.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.