LOCATION BETE GRISE MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, frigid Typic Endoaquods
TYPICAL PEDON: Bete Grise very gravelly loamy coarse sand on a 2 percent northwest facing slope in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated)
Oa--0 to 2 inches; black (5YR 2.5/1); well decomposed forest litter; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E--2 to 5 inches; dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) very gravelly loamy sand, reddish gray (5YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many very fine to coarse roots; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; 35 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
Bhs--5 to 17 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) very gravelly loamy coarse sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine to medium and few coarse roots; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moderately cemented ortstein; ortstein occupies 15 percent of the horizon; 30 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid; gradual irregular boundary. (5 to 13 inches thick)
Bs1--17 to 26 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) very gravelly coarse sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moderately cemented ortstein; ortstein occupies 10 percent of the horizon; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; 30 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid; gradual irregular boundary.
Bs2--26 to 32 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) extremely gravelly sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; brown (7.5YR 4/4); ortstein occupies 5 of the horizon; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; 60 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizon ranges from 14 to 25 inches.)
BC--32 to 36 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) extremely gravelly coarse sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; 60 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
C--36 to 59 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) very gravelly sand; single grain; loose; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation; 40 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid. (18 to 25 inches thick)
2C--59 to 80 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) very cobbly sand; single grain; friable; many medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) and few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; 30 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Keweenaw County, Michigan, about 1,196 feet west and 914 feet south of the northeast corner of Sec. 5, T. 57 N., R. 32 W., Allouez Township; USGS Ahmeek 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; lat. 47 degrees 22 minutes 13.51 seconds N. and long. 88 degrees 23 minutes 18.73 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Gravel content ranges from 20 to 65 percent, cobble content ranges from 5 to 40 percent, and stones range from 0 to 20 percent. The particle size control section averages between 35 and 90 percent rock fragments by volume and greater than 70 percent fine sand or coarser. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly acid.
Some pedons have an A horizon. The E horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. The A and E horizons are loamy sand, sandy loam, loamy coarse sand, coarse sandy loam or very gravelly, extremely gravelly, very cobbly or extremely cobbly analogs of these textures.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 and chroma of 2 or 3. The Bhs horizon is coarse sand, sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam or very gravelly, extremely gravelly, very cobbly or extremely cobbly analogs of these textures.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. The Bs horizon is sand, coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand or very gravelly, extremely gravelly, very cobbly or extremely cobbly analogs of these textures.
The BC horizon when present has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 to 5. The BC horizon is sand, coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand or gravelly, cobbly, very gravelly, or very cobbly analogs of these textures.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 5. The C horizon is sand, coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam or gravelly to extremely gravelly, cobbly or very cobbly analogs of these textures.
COMPETING SERIES: There are none. Closely related soils are the Waiska and Nipissing series. Waiska soils are excessively drained. Nipissing soils are well drained, moderately deep to bedrock and are loamy-skeletal over fragmental.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bete Grise soils are in slightly depressional areas and drainageways on glacial lake benches, stream terraces and outwash plains underlain by cobbly and gravelly till. The upper deposits were formed in cobbly, gravelly and sandy glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine deposits. The substratum was formed in cobbly and gravelly till. Slopes range from 0 to 4 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 36 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 40 to 45 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Copper Harbor, Nipissing, Gratiot, and Tawas soils. The moderately well drained Copper Harbor soils are on slightly higher landscape positions. Nipissing soils are moderately deep, well drained soils on bedrock benches. The somewhat poorly drained Gratiot soils are on similar landscape positions and formed in gravelly and cobbly sandy loam glacial till. The very poorly drained Tawas soils are in the lowest depressions and drainageways and formed in organic material over sandy deposits.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Permeability is very rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested with the primary species being red maple, sugar maple, northern white cedar, paper birch, quaking aspen, white spruce and balsam fir.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, primarily on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota; MLRA SSO 10-8 (Marquette, Michigan).
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Keweenaw County, Michigan, 2004. The source of the name is a bay on Lake Superior.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the pedon are:
albic horizon: 2 to 5 inches (E);
spodic horizon:5 to 32 inches (Bhs, Bs1, Bs2);
Particle size control section: 10 to 40 inches
Only series status, responsibility, and scriveners errors changed - 3/09.
ADDITIONAL DATA: For laboratory data on the typical pedon refer to S01MI-083-002 from the NSSL.