LOCATION BANGOR ME+NHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Typic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Bangor silt loam - idle land (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 5 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; strong coarse granular structure; friable; many roots; 10 percent gravel; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Bs1--5 to 11 inches; brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many roots; 10 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
Bs2--11 to 21 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; common roots; 10 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bs3--21 to 24 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; few roots; 10 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 3 to 12 inches.)
BC--24 to 27 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium platy structure; friable; few roots; 5 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 9 inches thick)
C1--27 to 33 inches; olive (5Y 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium platy structure; firm; very few roots; 10 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 18 inches thick)
C2--33 to 65 inches; olive (5Y 5/4) gravelly silt loam; very coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; firm; 15 percent gravel; gray (5Y 6/1) faces of peds; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Penobscot County, Maine; Town of Exeter; about 2 miles northeast of Exeter Corners and 1 mile south of the Garland town line, on the 45 degrees north latitude line.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 18 to 35 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 35 percent with the majority of the fragments being gravel size. The soil is extremely acid to moderately acid in the solum, and strongly acid or moderately acid in the substratum. Clay content averages less than 10 percent, and silt content more than 40 percent throughout the particle-size control section.
The Ap horizon, or A horizon where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. The A horizons are silt loam, loam, or gravelly silt loam. They have weak to strong, fine to coarse granular structure, and consistence is friable or very friable.
Some unplowed soils have a thin E horizon that is neutral or has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is silt loam, loam, or gravelly silt loam. It has weak to strong, fine to coarse granular structure, and consistence is friable or very friable.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 8. It is silt loam, loam, or their gravelly analogs. It has weak or moderate, fine or medium granular, or weak very fine or fine subangular blocky structure. Consistence is very friable to firm.
The BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. It is silt loam, loam, or their gravelly analogs. It has weak or moderate, fine to coarse, subangular blocky, medium platy or weak fine granular structure. Consistence is friable or firm.
An E' horizon is present in a few pedons, and has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam, loam, or their gravelly analogs. It has weak to strong fine subangular blocky, or strong very coarse prismatic parting to blocky structure. Consistence is friable or firm.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam, loam, or their gravelly analogs. The C horizon has weak to strong, medium subangular blocky; weak to strong, thin to thick platy; or strong, coarse or very coarse prismatic parting to blocky or platy structure; or they are massive. Thin films are present on some faces of peds in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: The Battydoe, Becket, Berkshire, Chatham, Dekapen, Elliottsville, Groveton, Houghtonville, Michigamme, Onota, Penquis, Potsdam, Rawsonville, Revel, Tunbridge, and Welcome series are in the same family. The Battydoe soils have free carbonates within 60 inches. Becket, Berkshire and Groveton soils are coarser textured and have less than 40 percent silt. Chatham soils are slightly acid to slightly alkaline, and have 35 to 70 percent coarse fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Dekapen, Elliottsville, Michigamme, Onota, Penquis, Rawsonville, Revel and Tunbridge soils are all moderately deep to bedrock. Groveton soils have less than 40 percent silt in the particle-size control section. Houghtonville soils have spodic horizons that are greater than 16 inches thick. Potsdam soils have an aeolian or water deposited mantle. Welcome soils have sandstone bedrock within 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bangor soils are on till plains and ridges. Slope ranges from 0 to 25 percent. The soils formed in glacial till derived mainly from slate, shale and phyllite with small amounts of granite, fine grained quartzite, and sandstone. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 41 to 46 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 34 to 46 inches. The frost-free season ranges from 100 to 150 days. Elevation ranges from 10 to 1000 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Burnham, Dixmont, Monarda, and Thorndike soils. Burnham soils are very poorly drained. Dixmont soils are moderately well and somewhat poorly drained. Monarda soils are poorly drained. Thorndike soils are somewhat excessively drained, and have bedrock within 20 inches of the mineral soil surface.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate throughout the soil.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly forested. Common tree species include northern hardwoods, white spruce, red spruce, balsam fir, and white pine. Cleared areas are used for potatoes, corn, hay and pasture. Some areas are in urban use.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and northern Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont; MLRA's 143 and 144B. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Orono area, Maine, 1909.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 5 inches (Ap horizon)
b. Spodic horizon - the zone from 5 to 11 inches (Bs1 horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Source of data used in establishing taxonomic class and range in characteristics is Technical Bulletin 75, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, June 1975; and NRCS Characterization Data.
Soil Interpretation Record numbers for the Bangor series are: Bangor, ME0019; and Bangor, stony, ME0051.