LOCATION COWHORN MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, nonacid, frigid Aeric Endoaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Cowhorn loamy very fine sand, on a plane slope of less than 1 percent, in a hay field, on a lake plain, at an elevation of about 1,260 feet above sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loamy very fine sand, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; weak fine and very fine granular and weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many medium roots; few black (10YR 2/1) and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) worm casts; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bw1--8 to 9 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4), yellowish brown (10YR 5/4), and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loamy very fine sand; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many medium roots; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bw2--9 to 15 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) and brown (10YR 5/3) loamy very fine sand; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) Fe concentrations; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw3--15 to 36 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) and light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) loamy very fine sand; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and few medium prominent brown (10YR 5/3) Fe concentrations; few fine black (5YR 2/1) soft nodules; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bw4--36 to 51 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) and light olive gray (5Y 6/2) loamy very fine sand; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; common large prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) and common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) Fe concentrations; few fine black (5YR 2/1) soft nodules; few narrow pipe stem formation; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 24 to 68 inches.)
C--51 to 60 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) and light olive gray (5Y 6/2) very fine sand; massive; very friable; few coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) Fe concentrations; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Itasca County, Minnesota; about 11 miles south and 5.5 miles east of Grand Rapids; about 1,680 feet east and 70 feet south of the northwest corner of section 20, T. 53 N., R. 24 W.; USGS Split Hand Lake quadrangle; lat. 47 degrees 4 minutes 18 seconds N. and long. 93 degrees 24 minutes 59 seconds W., NAD83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to free carbonates ranges from 40 to more than 70 inches. An O horizon up to 3 inches thick is present in some pedons. The series control section has no rock fragments. The particle-size control section average ranges from 2 to 10 percent clay. Redoximorphic features consisting of Fe depletions and Fe concentrations occur within 16 inches of the mineral soil surface.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 1. In uncultivated areas, the A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2 or is neutral with value of 2. This horizon is loamy very fine sand or very fine sandy loam. It is strongly acid to slightly acid. Some pedons have an E horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR (mainly in the upper portion) and 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4. In some pedons the lower parts have hue of 5Y. It typically has redoximorphic features with the greater contrast in the lower part of the horizon. It is loamy very fine sand or very fine sand. Some pedons have thin subhorizons of very fine sandy loam, silt loam, loamy fine sand, or fine sand. In some pedons the B horizon lacks pipestems. It is strongly to slightly acid.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. It has many or common medium and large Fe concentrations. It is very fine sand or loamy very fine sand. Some pedons have thin strata of very fine sandy loam, silt loam, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, or fine sand. A few pedons have subhorizons of sand and coarse sand. It is slightly acid to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are in the Brayton, Chazy, Malone, Mino, and Peasleeville soils. The Brayton, Chazy, Maline, Mino, and Peasleeville soils have rock fragments in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cowhorn soils are on plane surfaces on lacustrine plains, river terraces and deltas. Slopes are 0 to 3 percent. They formed in loamy glaciolacustrine sediments more than 40 inches thick. Mean annual air temperature is 36 to 40 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is 24 to 28 inches. Frost-free days range from 88 to 135. Elevation above sea level ranges from 1200 to 1350 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Greenwood, Lupton, Mooselake, Sago, Tawas, Wawina, and Zimmerman soils. The very poorly drained Greenwood, Lupton, and Mooselake soils formed in organic materials in depressions and drainageways. Wawina and Zimmerman soils are well drained and are on higher positions in the landscape. The very poorly drained Sago and Tawas soils formed in organic sediments and underlying mineral material in depressions and drainageways.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Runoff is low. Permeability is moderately rapid. An apparent water table is as high as between 1.5 to 2.5 feet at some time during April to June in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Much of the acreage is cleared and used for production of hay and pasture crops and small grain. A significant proportion remains forested. The principal species is quaking aspen.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Minnesota. Moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Itasca County, Minnesota, l982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 8 inches (Ap horizon); cambic horizon - the zone from 8 to 51 inches (Bw1, Bw2, Bw3, and Bw4 horizons); aquic moisture regime - low chroma with mottling is dominant in the cambic horizon; aeric subgroup - chroma of 3 or more is greater than 40 percent of the matrix in the zone from 8 to 15 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MN Agric. Exp. Sta. Central File Code No. 2212 for some laboratory analyses of the typical pedon. Soil Interpretation Record number is MN0347.