LOCATION GRAND SABLE MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, aniso, isotic, frigid Typic Udorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Grand Sable fine sand, on a 3 percent slope, in a forested area, at an elevation of 251 meters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated. When described on August 19, 2002 the soil was moist throughout.)
Oe--0 to 2 centimeters; very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/2) partially decomposed forest litter; weak fine granular structure; very friable; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 5 centimeters thick)
A--2 to 10 centimeters; very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) fine sand, gray (7.5YR 5/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine to fine and common medium to coarse roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 centimeters thick)
C1--10 to 33 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/2) loamy fine sand; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine to coarse roots; moderately acid; abrupt broken boundary. (10 to 30 centimeters thick)
C2--33 to 48 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/2) loamy fine sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine to coarse roots; discontinuous thin very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) buried A horizon; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (13 to 41 centimeters thick)
C3--48 to 79 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/3) very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine to coarse roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 33 centimeters thick)
2Eb-- 79 to 81centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/3) loamy sand; weak thin platy structure; very friable; common very fine to coarse roots; about 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 8 centimeters thick)
2Bs1b--81to 94 centimeters; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) sand; weak fine subangular structure; friable; few very fine and fine roots; about 3 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 33 centimeters thick)
2Bs2b--94 to 109 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sand; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; discontinuous vertical tongues of dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moderately cemented ortstein, occupy about 25 percent (25 of 102 centimeters) of the horizon and extend into the 2BC horizon to a depth of 55 centimeters; tongues are 2 to 15 centimeters wide and 15 to 64 centimeters apart; about 3 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (13 to 23 centimeters thick)
2BCb--109 to 140 centimeters; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sand; single grain; loose; about 4 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (20 to 33 centimeters thick)
2Cb--140 to 251 centimeters; light brown (7.5YR 6/4) sand; single grain; loose; about 2 percent gravel; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Alger County, Michigan; about .75 miles west of Grand Sable Lake in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; USGS Grand Sable Lake topographic quadrangle; lat. 46 degrees 38 minutes 44 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 02 minutes 56 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the eolian mantle ranges from 51 to 102 centimeters. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 10 percent in the 2Eb, 2Bs1b and 2Bs2b and 0 to 20 percent in the 2BCb and 2Cb. Cobbles range from 0 to 5 percent below the eolian mantle.
The Oe horizon has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 2 to 2.5 and chroma of 1 or 2. Reaction is very strongly acid.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1. It is loamy fine sand, loamy very fine sand or very fine sandy loam. Reaction is strongly to moderately acid.
The C horizons have a hue of 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loamy fine sand, loamy very fine sand or very fine sandy loam. Reaction is strongly acid to moderately acid.
The 2Eb horizons have hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sand or loamy sand. Reaction is strongly acid to moderately acid.
The 2Bsb horizons have hue of 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 4 or 6. It is sand. Reaction is moderately acid or slightly acid.
The 2BCb horizon has hue of 7.5 YR or 10YR, value of 5, and chroma of 4. It is sand or gravelly sand. Reaction is moderately acid or slightly acid.
The 2Cb horizon has hue of 7.5 YR or 10YR, value of 6, and chroma of 4. It is sand or gravelly sand. Reaction is moderately acid or slightly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. Wamduska, Boscawen, Emmert, Stonelake, and Yellowdog are closely related series. Wamduska series average 15 to 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Boscawen, Emmert, Stonelake and Yellowdog series are in the sandy-skeletal family and have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Grand Sable soils are on kame terraces adjacent to the Grand Sable Dunes. Slope ranges from 1 to 35 percent. These soils formed in sandy outwash that was overlain by an eolian mantle from windblown fine sediments from the adjacent Grand Sable Dunes. Elevation ranges from 213 to 259 meters. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 810 to 910 millimeters. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 4 to 6 degrees C. The frost-free period is about 120 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Shelldrake, Kalkaska, Stutts, Gongeau, Rhody, and Towes soils. The excessively drained Shelldrake soils are on the adjacent Grand Sable Dunes. The somewhat excessively drained Kalkaska and Stutts soils occur on nearby outwash plains. The poorly drained Gongeau, somewhat poorly drained Towes and the poorly drained Rhody soils are in depressions and drainageways on adjacent sandstone benches.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Runoff is negligible to low depending on slope. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is high over high and very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested with northern hardwoods. Common tree species include sugar maple, American beech, paper birch, and black cherry. Ground plants include sweet cicely, yellow, Canadian, and downy violets, white baneberry, sharp-lobed hepatica, spinulose shield fern, wild sarsaparilla, and shining club moss. Some small idle areas near Grand Marais were previously cleared and cultivated for cropland and orchards.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East-Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Major Land Resource Area 94B. This series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota; MLRA SSO 10-8 (Marquette, Michigan).
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alger County, Michigan, 2007. Source of name is the nearby Grand Sable Dunes and Lake.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - from a depth of 0 to 10 centimeters (Oe, A horizons).
Only series status, responsibility, and scrivener's errors changed - 3/09.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to S02MI-003-1 for NSSL data on reference pedon.