LOCATION FAXON MN+IA IL IN
Established Series
Rev. JFC-HRF-RJB
06/2015
FAXON SERIES
The Faxon series consists of moderately deep, poorly and very poorly drained soils that formed in a mantle of glacial drift over bedrock on rock-cored terraces and structural benches. These soils have moderate permeability. Their slopes range from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 27 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 46 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Faxon clay loam, on a concave slope of less than 1 percent, in a shallow depression, on a rock-cored terrace, in an idle field with mostly reeds and sedges. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A1--0 to 10 inches; black (N 2/0) clay loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly alkaline; slightly effervescent; clear wavy boundary.
A2--10 to 15 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of A horizon is 10 to 24 inches.)
Bg1--15 to 20 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) loam; many fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Bg2--20 to 26 inches; gray (5Y 5/1) fine sandy loam; many coarse prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) mottles; weak medium prismatic structure; friable; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bg3--26 to 34 inches; greenish gray (5GY 5/1) loam; many coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles; weak medium prismatic structure; friable; about 5 percent coarse fragments; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of Bg horizon is 6 to 24 inches.)
2R--34 inches; limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Rice County, Minnesota; about 2 miles west and 3 miles south of Northfield; about 2,000 feet north and 460 feet east of the southwest corner of section 14, T. 111 N., R. 20 W.; USGS Northfield topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 25 minutes 10 seconds N. and long. 93 degrees 11 minutes 56 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum and depth to bedrock range from 20 to 40 inches. Free carbonates commonly occur in at least some part of the A horizon, but they do not occur in all parts of the 10 to 20 inch depth zone. In some pedons, free carbonates are in a part of the B horizon. In some pedons, the horizon adjacent to the bedrock contains as much as 35 percent coarse fragments of mixed lithology. The remainder of the solum contains from 0 to 10 percent coarse fragments. The mollic epipedon is 10 to 24 inches thick. Between depths of 10 inches and the upper boundary of the bedrock, the average content of clay is 18 to 32 percent and of sand coarser than very fine, 15 to 45 percent. An O horizon up to 6 inches in thickness is in some pedons.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or it is N 2/0 or N 3/0. It is loam, silt loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, or silty clay loam. It is neutral or slightly alkaline. It has few snail shells in some pedons.
The B horizon has a matrix with hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or 5GY, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 or 2 in the upper part and 1 to 4 in the lower part, or it is N 4/0 or N 5/0. It lacks mottles in some parts in some pedons. It is sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, silt loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam. It is neutral or slightly alkaline.
The 2R horizon is quartzite or sandstone in a few pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Clyde,
Colwood,
Gansner,
Kossuth,
Letri,
Reddick,
Selma,
Tripoli,
Webster, and
Wolcott series in the same family. All of these soils do not have a lithic contact within depths of less than 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Faxon soils have plane or slightly concave slopes on rock-cored terraces or structural benches. Slope gradient is less than 2 percent. These soils formed in a loamy mantle of glacial drift primarily glacial alluvium, that is 20 to 40 inches thick. The underlying material is limestone, quartzite or sandstone bedrock. Mean annual air temperature is 45 to 52 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is 25 to 30 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Copaston,
Etter, and the
Joliet soils. Copaston and Etter soils are well drained and are on higher and/or more sloping terrain. Joliet soils are poorly drained and have bedrock within depths of 20 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly and very poorly drained. Surface runoff is slow or very slow. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is in pasture. Some of it is cropped to corn, hay, and soybeans. Native vegetation was a wet association of the tall grass prairie. See Additional Data section for native vegetative cover in Iowa and Minnesota.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and northern Illinois. Inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nicollet County, Minnesota, 1949.
REMARKS: Classification only was changed 5/94. Competing series and other updates will be made later. 2/14/2011-TYPE LOCATION error was corrected.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MAES Central File Code No. 1069 for results of some laboratory analysis of the typical pedon.
In Iowa and Minnesota, the native vegetative cover is a herbaceous wetland community commonly inhabited with Bluejoint Grasses, Fowl Bluegrasses, Green Muhlies, Fox Sedges, Field Sedges, Dudleys Rushes, Torreys Rushes, Swamp Milkweeds, False Sneezeweeds, False Asters, New England Asters, White Panicled Asters, and Wild Mints. Source: Iowa State Office, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Des Moines, IA.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.