LOCATION STEUBEN MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, frigid Alfic Fragiorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Steuben fine sandy loam - forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oe--0 to 5 centimeters; black (5YR 2/1) partially decomposed leaf litter; very friable; many roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 centimeters thick)
E--5 to 20 centimeters; reddish gray (5YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak very coarse platy structure; friable; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 15 centimeters thick)
Bh--20 to 28 centimeters; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) fine sandy loam, weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 centimeters thick)
Bhs--28 to 41 centimeters; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) fine sandy loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 41 centimeters thick)
Bs--41 to 53 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 15 centimeters thick)
B/Ex--53 to 102 centimeters; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) fine sandy loam (Bt), and pinkish gray (5YR 6/2) pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) loamy fine sand (E); Bt represents 60 percent of the horizon and E 40 percent; weak very thick platy structure; vesicular; hard, brittle, and firm; few thin clay films; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 56 centimeters thick)
2E' and Bt--102 to 114 centimeters; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sand, pink (7.5YR 8/4) dry; single grain; loose; with few reddish brown (5YR 4/4) loamy sand lamellae (Bt); weak thin platy structure; very friable; lamellae are 0.16 to 0.6 centimeters thick loamy sand bands; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 76 centimeters thick)
2C2--114 to 203 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sand and coarse sand; single grain; loose; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Alger County, Michigan; 7/8 mile south of junction of USFS Roads 2272 and 2476, on Road 2476; 1,000 feet north and 200 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 8, T. 45 N., R. 20 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 51 to 102 centimeters. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 43 to 66 centimeters. The solum ranges from very strongly acid to medium acid and the 2C horizon ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid. The gravel content ranges from 0 to 10 percent in the loamy part and 0 to 15 percent in the sandy part. Cobbles range from 0 to 5 percent and stones range from 0 to 2 percent throughout the pedon.
Some pedons have an A horizon with hue of 5YR or 10YR, value of 1 or 2, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is 2 to 5 centimeters thick and is loamy sand to fine sandy loam.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR and value of 5 or 6. It is loamy sand to fine sandy loam.
The Bh horizon has value and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The Bhs horizon has value and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
The E part of the B/Ex horizon has value of 5 to 7 and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or fine sandy loam. The Bt part has value or 4 or 5. It is sandy loam or sandy clay loam. The E part of the B/Ex occurs as coatings around peds of Bt material and generally comprises 40 to 50 percent of the horizon. The fragipan has weak very thick platy to weak very coarse subangular blocky structure and is hard or very hard when dry and friable to very firm when moist.
The 2C horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sand or coarse sand with thin bands of loamy sand ranging from 0.16 to 1.27 centimeters in thickness. Bands are in the upper part of the 2C horizon and may extend to depths of 150 centimeters, but some pedons do not have them.
COMPETING SERIES: There are the Baraga, Gogebic, Iron River, Kallio, McBride, Munising, and Wakefield series in the same family and the Champion series. Baraga, Gogebic, Iron River, Kallio, McBride, Munising, and Wakefield soils have finer C horizons. Champion soils do not have argillic horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on ground and end moraines. Slope gradients typically are 0 to 35 percent but range from 0 to 30 percent. These soils formed in loamy deposits overlying sand. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 660 to 840 millimeters, and mean annual temperature is estimated to range from 5 to 6.6 degrees C.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Blue Lake, Kalkaska, Karlin, and Munising soils are on associated upland soils. The Blue Lake and Kalkaska soils are sandy and the Karlin soil does not have a fragipan. Munising soils have sandy loam C horizons.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow to moderate. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderate high or high in the upper part of the solum, moderately low in the fragipan, and high or very high through the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Forested with sugar maple, quaking aspen, yellow birch, paper birch, American basswood, eastern hemlock, and balsam fir.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Delta County, Michigan, 1969.