LOCATION PELKIE MI+WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, frigid Oxyaquic Udipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Pelkie loamy very fine sand - on a 1 percent west-facing slope in an abandoned field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) loamy very fine sand, light brown (7.5YR 6/4) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; very friable; many fine and medium roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
C1--8 to 16 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) fine sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium granular; very friable; common fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
C2--16 to 32 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) fine sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium granular; very friable; common fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
C3--32 to 80 inches; light reddish brown (5YR 6/4) sand; common fine faint yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulations; single grain; loose; few fine roots; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Baraga County, Michigan; about 0.2 mile south and 0.1 mile west of the M-28 Sturgeon River Bridge; 1,000 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 28, T. 51 N., R. 34 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Color, arrangement, and thickness of horizons vary considerably because of the nature of the parent material. Organic carbon content decreases irregularly with depth.
The Ap horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy very fine sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sand. Uncultivated areas have an A horizon with hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. Reaction of the A or Ap horizon ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The C horizons have hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is sand, fine sand or loamy fine sand. Thin horizons of loamy sand to silt are below a depth of 40 inches in some pedons. The C horizon contains high chroma mottles at variable depths below 20 inches. Reaction of the C horizons ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crex, Lenroot, Mooers, Seul Choix (T), Sissabagama, Sunia, Tourtilotte and Wurtsmith soils. None of these soils have an irregular decrease in organic matter with depth, and they are not located on flood plains or subject to flooding.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Pelkie soils are on narrow flood plains along the major streams. The topography is level or gently sloping with slope gradients from 0 to 4 percent. The soil formed in sandy alluvium. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 34 inches, and the mean annual air temperature ranges from 39 to 47 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the somewhat poorly drained Winterfield soils in slightly lower landscape positions and the poorly drained Arnheim soils in depressions on floodplains. The Munising, Ontonagon, and Rubicon soils on steep side slopes and in the uplands adjacent to the Pelkie soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. These soils have an apparent seasonal high water table at a depth of 2.5 to 3.5 feet below the surface at some time during the period from November to May in most years. It is subject to occasional to frequent flooding for brief periods of time from March to May. Surface runoff is negligible. Permeability is rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cropped to hay or oats or are idle. Some areas are forested with mixed hardwoods and a few conifers.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin. These soils are of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Baraga County, Michigan, 1984.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 8 inches (Ap horizon); oxyaquic feature - the soil is saturated within 40 inches of the surface for one month or longer in 6 out of 10 years.