LOCATION BERGKELLER MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Bergkeller sandy loam - on a 2 percent slope under jack pine at elevation 1425 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)
Oi--1 inch to 0; forest litter derived from pine needles, leaves, twigs, and roots. (0 to 3 inches thick)
A--0 to 3 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--3 to 10 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; about 5 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bw2--10 to 21 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; about 8 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of Bw horizons is 8 to 30 inches)
2Bt--21 to 32 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few distinct dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; about 10 percent gravel and 4 percent cobbles; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 15 inches thick)
3BC--32 to 40 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) coarse sand; single grain; loose; about 6 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
3C--40 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) gravelly sand; single grain; loose; about 18 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Cass County, Minnesota, about 15 miles west of Pine River; 2,640 feet north and 325 feet east of the southwest corner of Sec. 27, T 138 N, R 32 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the underlying sandy materials ranges from 24 to 40 inches. Gravel and cobble content ranges from 0 to 10 percent by volume in the upper mantle and from 10 to 35 percent by volume in the 2Bt, 3BC and 3C horizons. High value and high or low chroma mottles are in some profiles.
The 0 horizon typically consists of herbaceous material in various stages of decomposition, including Oi, Oe, or Oa horizons.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 to 3. It is sandy loam or loamy sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
An E horizon is present in some pedons.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is loamy sand, sandy loam, or sand. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The 2Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, or their gravelly analogues. It has 10 to 18 percent clay, 60 to 70 percent fine sand or coarser, and 15 to 45 percent coarse sand or coarser. Reaction is strongly acid or moderately acid.
The 3BC horizon has colors and textures similar to the 3C horizon. High value and high or low chroma mottles are in some profiles.
The 3C horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is sand, coarse sand, or their gravelly analogues. Reaction is moderately acid to neutral. High value and high or low chroma mottles are in some profiles.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Balmlake (T), Cunard, Emmet, Flak, Heyder, Milaca, Nadeau, Oconto, Omena, Sanburn, and Sugarbush (T) series. Oconto soils have hue of 5YR or redder in the argillic horizon. In addition, Cunard soils have bedrock at 20 to 40 inches. Flak and Milaca soils have dense till at 20 to 40 inches. Emmet soils have reaction of 6.6 or higher in the argillic horizon. Heyder soils have less than 30 percent coarse sand or coarser in the argillic horizon. Balmlake and Omena soils have less than 60 percent fine sand and coarser in the argillic horizon. Sugarbush soils have less than 10 percent gravel in the argillic horizon. Nadeau soils have less than 24 inches to sand and gravel. Sanburn soils have less than 10 percent gravel in the upper part of the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bergkeller soils have plane and slightly concave surfaces on sloughed till transitional areas between outwash plains and end moraines. Mean annual temperature ranges from 38 to 42 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is about 24 to 28 inches. Frost-free days of 112 to 131. Elevation above sea level is 1150 to 1610 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the well drained Demontreville and the excessively drained Mahtomedi on the edge of the end moraines, and the moderately well drained Friendship and excessively drained Menahga on the outwash plains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained and moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow or medium. Permeability is moderate in the upper mantle and rapid or very rapid in the lower part. The moderately well drained phase has a water table at 2.5 to 6 feet.
USE AND VEGETATION: The majority of this soil is under forest vegetation. Some acreage is in mixed pasture and hay crops. Forest vegetation consists of jack pine, red pine, bigtooth aspen, bur oak, and paper birch.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Minnesota. Small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES PROPOSED: Cass County, Minnesota, July 1989. Source name is that of a lake in Cass County.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil include: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 3 inches (A horizon); Bw feature - the zone of structural development without the clay illuviation to be diagnostic of an argillic from 3 to 21 inches; argillic horizon - the zone from 21 to 32 inches (2Bt horizon); udic moisture regime. See MAES CFC number 3922 for laboratory analysis of the typical pedon.