LOCATION EPSOM MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Epiaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Epsom silty clay loam on a nearly level flood plain in native vegetation. (All colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 8 inches; black (N 2/0) silty clay loam; black (10YR 2/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
A2--8 to 16 inches; black (10YR 2/1) silty clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
A3--16 to 30 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons is 24 to 40 inches.)
Bg1--30 to 36 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silty clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches.)
2Bg2--36 to 42 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common medium distinct light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) Fe concentrations; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bg3--42 to 60 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bg horizons is 8 to 30 inches)
3Cd--60 to 80 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) loam; massive; firm; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations; about 2 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Rice County, Minnesota; about 1 mile west and 1/2 mile south of Epsom; 2,640 feet south and 1,960 feet west of the northeast corner of section 15, T.109 N, R.19 W.; USGS Moland quadrangle, 44 degrees 14 minutes 50 seconds N; 93 degrees 05 minutes 17 seconds W., NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 24 to 60 inches. The depth to the underlying loess ranges from 24 to 40 inches. The depth to the underlying glacial till ranges from 40 to 70 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or is neutral, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 0 to 3. It is silty clay loam, loam, silt loam, or their mucky modifiers. Reaction is slightly acid to neutral.
Some pedons have an Ab horizon or buried Oa horizons.
The Bg and 2Bg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 2 to 7 and chroma of 0 to 2. It is silt loam or silty clay loam. Reaction is slightly acid or neutral.
Some pedons have a sand or gravelly sand layer above the till that is as much as 10 inches thick.
The 3Cd horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 1 to 4. It is loam or clay loam. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. This is considered dense till (paralithic contact) but has numerous fractures that range from .5 to 6 feet apart. Fractures are commonly filled with sandy material.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Epsom soils have plane and concave slopes on floodplains and long, narrow drainageways in sloping uplands. Slope gradients range from 0 to about 2 percent. Epsom soils formed in deposits of colluvial/alluvial sediments over loess and the underlying loamy glacial till. The sediments are late Wisconsin in age. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 32 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees F. The average annual frost free days range from 135 to 160 Elevation above sea level ranges from 900 to 1400 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Nerwoods, Kenyon, and Racine soils. The Nerwoods soils are somewhat poorly drained and higher lying. The moderately well drained Kenyon and the well drained Racine soils are on the adjacent uplands.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Very poorly drained. Surface runoff is slow to ponded. These soils are frequently flooded for brief duration unless drained. Permeability is moderate in the colluvium/alluvium and loess and moderately slow in the till. There is a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of +1 to 0.5 feet from November to June in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Commonly left to its native vegetation of water tolerant prairie grass species. Some areas have been drained and are used for pasture or in some cases cropland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA-104. These soils are of limited extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Rice County, Minnesota in 1996.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface to 30 inches (A1, A2, and A3 horizons); Cambic horizon - the zone from 30 to 60 inches (Bg1, 2Bg2, 2Bg3); aquic moisture conditions - redoximorphic features beginning at 8 inches. Dense till Cd horizon based on pedon data and MLRA-104 analysis of data.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to National Soil Survey Laboratory sample number S92MN131-01(1-8) for results of laboratory analysis near the typical pedon. Also refer to MAES CFC No. 4446 for additional data. Soil Interpretation Record number MN0842.