LOCATION GEEBURG OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Aquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Geeburg silt loam - on a 3 percent convex slope in an idle area with numerous blackberry bushes and thorn brush. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak coarse granular and fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few roots; strongly acid, abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
E/B--7 to 9 inches; an equal mixture of E material and spheres of the upper part of the Bt horizon; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam (E); friable; spheres of yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) firm silty clay (Bt) with faint clay films in pores; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; few roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
Bt1--9 to 12 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay; few fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) mottles; weak fine and medium prismatic structure parting to weak fine and medium angular blocky; very firm; few roots mainly along faces of peds; many faint brown (10YR 5/3) clay films on faces of prisms; common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of angular blocks; about one percent pebbles; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--12 to 20 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay; common fine distinct gray (10YR 6/1) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to weak medium and coarse angular blocky; very firm; few roots mainly along faces of peds; many faint brown (10YR 5/3) and distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical faces of prisms and common faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on horizontal faces of peds; about 1 percent pebbles; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--20 to 30 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay; common coarse distinct gray (10YR 5/1) mottles; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; very firm; few roots along faces of prisms; many distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay films on vertical faces of prisms; many faint brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds inside prisms; few fine black stains (oxides) on horizontal faces of angular blocks; about 1 percent pebbles; common pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) and white (2.5Y 8/2) calcium carbonate accumulations in the lower two inches; neutral grading to mildly alkaline in lower part; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 8 to 30 inches.)
C1--30 to 38 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay; coarse distinct gray (N 5/0) mottles; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium and coarse angular blocky; very firm; very few roots along faces of prisms; many distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coatings on faces of prisms; common large pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) or white (2.5Y 8/2) calcium carbonate accumulations in prisms; about 1 percent pebbles; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline; diffuse wavy boundary.
C2--38 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silty clay; weak very coarse prismatic structure; very firm; common distinct olive gray (5Y 5/2 and 6/2) coatings on faces of prisms; common white (2.5Y 8/2) or pale yellow (2.5Y 8/4) calcium carbonate accumulations in prisms; few fine black stains (oxides) on faces of prisms; about 1 percent pebbles; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Portage County, Ohio, 2 1/2 miles north and 1 1/4 miles west of Palmyra; 900 feet west of Wayland Road and 250 feet north of Cable Line Road, T. 3 N., R. 6 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The content of coarse fragments, mostly shale and sandstone fragments, is less than 5 percent, commonly about 1 percent.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 (6 or more dry), and chroma of 2 or 3. Some pedons have an A horizon 1 to 4 inches thick that has value of 2 or 3 ( 4 or 5 dry), and chroma of 1 or 2. The E horizon, 2 to 8 inches thick, where present; has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6 (6 to 8 dry), and chroma of 3 or 4. The Ap, A, and E horizons are silt loam or silty clay loam. They are strongly acid or very strongly acid unless limed.
The E/B is unmottled. The E zones have chroma of 3 or 4, and the Bt zones have chroma of 4 or 6. Some pedons have a B/E or BE horizon.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 6, and few to many mottles except in the upper 6 to 8 inches in some pedons. Coatings on faces of peds have value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. The Bt is silty clay or clay with thin subhorizons of silty clay loam in some pedons. Average clay content is 45 to 60 percent. It is strongly acid or very strongly acid in the upper part and medium acid or mildly alkaline in the lower part.
Some pedons have BC horizons.
The C horizon is clay or silty clay. It is neutral to moderately alkaline. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 5 to 20 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cardington, Ellsworth, Glynwood, Loudon, Pert, Shinrock, and Wyatt series in the same family and the Broughton, Caneadea, Celina, Lucas, Mahoning, Morley, Remsen, and St. Clair soils. Cardington, Ellsworth, Pert, and Shinrock soils average less than 45 percent clay. Glynwood soils have a calcium carbonate equivalent of more than 20 percent and contain less than 40 percent clay in the C horizon. Loudon soils have a high content of shale in the lower part of the solum. Wyatt soils have a thicker solum and are stratified in the C horizon. Broughton soils are very fine. Caneadea, Mahoning, and Remsen soils are Aqualfs. Celina soils have mixed clay mineralogy. Lucas, Morley, and St. Clair soils are Udalfs.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Geeburg soils are on glacial moraines, till plains, and dissected terraces that have a plane or convex surface. The slope gradient typically is 2 to 18 percent but the range is 2 to 70 percent. The soils formed in clayey glacial till or lacustrine sediments derived principally from acid shale. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 34 to 43 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from about 48 to 53 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The moderately well drained Geeburg soils are in a toposequence with the Remsen and Trumbull soils. Remsen soils are somewhat poorly drained and commonly are on lower positions on the landscape than Geeburg soils. Trumbull soils are poorly drained and are on nearly level areas or in depressions. Soils on nearby landscapes include the competing Caneadea soils and Glenford soils that mainly formed in lacustrine sediments. Glenford soils are in the fine-silty family.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow to rapid depending on slope. Permeability is very slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: A large proportion is farmed. Corn, oats, wheat, meadow, and pasture are the principal crops. A sizeable acreage is wooded, with oaks, sugar maple, tulip poplar, ash, and beech the main species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeast Ohio. Total extent is moderate, about 25,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Summit County, Ohio, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - from the surface to a depth of about 9 inches (Ap, E/B); argillic horizon - from a depth of about 9 inches to about 30 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data is available for the following profiles: PG-S12 (the typical pedon), MH-39, PG-6, and TR-8.