LOCATION BURNSVILLE         MN
Established Series
Rev. JFC-HRF-RWD
02/2003

BURNSVILLE SERIES


The Burnsville series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in glacial outwash consisting of a loamy mantle over underlying sandy sediments on outwash plains, valley trains, and kames. They have moderately rapid permeability in the upper part and rapid in the lower part. Their slopes range from 2 to 40 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 30 inches, and mean annual air temperature is about 47 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Burnsville sandy loam with an 8 percent convex slope on an outwash plain in a mixed deciduous forest. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

A1--0 to 3 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; medium acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

A2--3 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few masses and worm casts of very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); about 5 percent gravel; medium acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)

B1--9 to 13 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) coarse sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine and very fine subangular blocky; friable; many thin and medium coatings of clean sand and silt particles on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)

B2t--13 to 20 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common moderately thick dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; about 10 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 8 inches thick)

IIB3t--20 to 24 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly coarse sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; about 20 percent gravel; few thin dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) clay films on faces of peds; slight effervescence; mildly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 18 inches thick)

IIC--24 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; about 25 percent gravel; strong effervescence; mildly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Hennepin County, Minnesota; southern suburbs of Minnetonka; about 650 feet south and 175 feet east of the center of sec. 34, T. 117 N., R. 22 W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum and depth to free carbonates range from 18 to 36 inches. The coarse-loamy part of the argillic horizon terminates at a depth of 14 to 30 inches. The upper sediment lacks or has as much as 10 percent gravel, and the lower sediment has 5 to 35 percent gravel. The gravel has mixed lithology.

The A1 horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It has weak or moderate granular, crumb, or subangular blocky structure. The A2 horizon has a matrix with hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 or 2. It has weak or moderate, subangular blocky or platy structure. The A horizon is coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam. It is friable or very friable. It is medium acid through neutral.

The part of the B horizon in the upper sediment has a matrix with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam. It has 10 to 18 percent clay with B/A clay ratios of 1.2 to 2.0. It has weak or moderate subangular blocky structure. It has few through many thin coatings of clean sand and silt particles in the upper part. It has few through many thin through thick clay films in the B2 horizon. It is medium acid through neutral.

The IIB horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, with value and chroma of 3 through 5. It is coarse sand, sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, coarse sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. It is massive or has weak subangular blocky structure. It is loose or very friable. It has few or common clay films or clay bridges between sand grains. It is neutral through mildly alkaline.

The IIC horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 6. It is coarse sand or sand in the fine-earth fraction and commonly is stratified. It is mildly or moderately alkaline and has slight through strong effervescence.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alvin, Boyer, Dryden, Eleva, Elmdale, Hillsdale, Lamont, Lapeer, Mecan, Oshtemo, Perrin, and Wyocena in the same family. The Alvin soils have firm Bt horizons and C horizons containing dominantly fine and medium sands. Boyer sands have the upper sola formed in sandy loam or sandy clay loam materials and commonly have a thinner sola. Dryden, Elmdale, Hillsdale, Lapeer, Mecan, and Wyocena soils have loamy sand or sandy loam C horizons and lack sand and gravel in the lower sola and C horizons. Eleva soils have weakly cemented sandstone at a depth of less than 40 inches. Lamont soils have sola with fine sandy loam textures and lack gravel in the lower sola. Oshtemo soils have thicker sola. Perrin soils have mottles of low chroma in the lower part of the Bt horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Burnsville soils have plane or convex slopes on outwash plains, valley trains, and kames of the Late Wisconsin glaciation. Slope gradients are commonly 10 to 20 percent but range from 2 to 40 percent. These soils formed in glacial outwash consisting of a loamy mantle over sandy underlying sediments. These sediments are Late Wisconsin in age. The climate is midcontinental type; summers are warm; winters are cold. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 52 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 32 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Salida and Hayden soils. Excessively drained sandy-skeletal Salida soils are on similar slopes and are commonly in adjacent delineations. Well drained loamy Hayden soils are on similar slopes where loamy glacial till and gravelly glacial drift materials are closely associated.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately rapid in the upper part and rapid in the lower part. Runoff is medium to rapid.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is forested or used for growing pasture. Some is cropped to corn, soybeans, small grain, and hay. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: In southeastern Minnesota. Moderately extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dakota County, Minnesota, 1942.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Central File Code No. 762 for some results of laboratory analysis of the typical pedon.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.