LOCATION GILCHRIST MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Oxyaquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Gilchrist sand - on a north facing, convex 3 percent slope at an elevation of 226 meters in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated).
Oe--0 to 8 centimeters; very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) partially decomposed forest litter
E--8 to 18 centimeters; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) sand, light gray (7.5YR 7/1) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine to coarse roots; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (8 to 15 centimeters thick)
Bhs--18 to 23 centimeters; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few coarse and common fine to medium roots; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear broken boundary. (3 to 10 centimeters thick)
Bs1--23 to 48 centimeters; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) loamy sand; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine to medium roots between orstein columns; columns of moderately cemented, dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) orstein 2 to 6 inches wide extend into the Bs2 horizon; orstein occupies 10 percent of the horizon; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--48 to 66 centimeters; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulations; few fine roots; about 2 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of Bs, 38 to 64 centimeters)
2Cd--66 to 203 centimeters; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely gravelly sandy loam; strong coarse platy structure; very firm; about 65 percent gravel; about 1 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline; strong effervescence.
TYPE LOCATION: Schoolcraft County, Michigan; about 2 miles east of Thompson, 1782 feet north, 396 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 28, T. 41 N., R. 17 W., USGS Cooks topographic quadrangle, Latitude 45 degrees 54 minutes 57.3 seconds N., and Longitude 86 degrees 26 minutes 49.34 seconds W,; Inwood Township.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the calcareous dense till is 46 to 102 centimeters. Content of gravel is 0 to 15 percent in the solum and 15 to 70 percent in the substratum. Content of cobbles is 0 to 5 percent in the substratum. Depth to redoximorphic features is 48 to 102 centimeters.
Some pedons have an A horizon, with hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Textures are similar to the E horizon.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 2. It is loamy sand, sand, or loamy fine sand. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR and value and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loamy sand, sand or loamy fine sand. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The Bs horizons have hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4; and chroma of 4 to 6. It is sand or loamy sand. Reaction is very strongly acid to neutral.
Some pedons have a BC horizon with hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is sand or loamy sand. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The 2Cd horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is gravelly, very gravelly or extremely gravelly sandy loam. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Croswell, Croswood, Cublake, Halfaday, Heinz, Manitowish, Mattix, and Proper series. The Croswell, Halfaday, Heinz, Manitowish, Mattix, and Proper soils are sandy to a depth of 203 centimeters. In addition Heinz, Manitowish, and Mattix have loamy surfaces. Croswood and Cublake have loamy substratums, that have moist bulk density less than 1.80 grams per cubic centimeter.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gilchrist soils are on ground moraines, drumlins, and outwash plains of Late Wisconsinan Age. Slope gradients range from 0 to 6 percent. Annual precipitation ranges from 710 to 810 millimeters. Mean annual temperature ranges from about 3 to 5 degrees C.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cookson, Cozy, Kalkaska, Longrie, and Rubicon soils. The somewhat excessively drained Kalkaska and the excessively drained Rubicon soils are on slightly higher landscape positions. Cozy soils have loamy textures and are on similar landscape positions. Cookson and Longrie soils are moderately deep to limestone bedrock and on slightly higher landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. These soils have a representative wet soil moisture status that is perched above the dense till, it ranges from 46 to 61 centimeters below the surface from October, November, March, April, and May. Surface runoff is low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high and very high in the solum and low in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Primarily forested, with sugar maple, red maple, big tooth and quaking aspen, ironwood, American Beech, eastern white pine, American basswood, paper and yellow birch, and balsam fir.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Lower Peninsula and Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Delta County and Hiawatha National Forest, of Alger and Schoolcraft Counties, Michigan, 1969.
REMARKS: Classification was adjusted to agree with ST Issue #17 on 6 Sept 94 by CLG. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: albic horizon - the zone 8 to 18 centimeters (E horizon); spodic horizon - the zone from 18 to 48 centimeters; a lithologic discontinuity from sandy materials to loamy dense materials at 66 centimeters. Redoximorphic features present at a depth of 48 to 66 centimeters.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to S02MI-153-027 for NSSL data on typical pedon.