LOCATION HAMEL MN
Established Series
Rev. AGG-TCJ
03/2014
HAMEL SERIES
The Hamel series consists of very deep, poorly drained and somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in slope colluvium and glacial till on moraines. These soils have moderately slow permeability. Their slopes range from 1 to 4 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 28 inches. Mean annual air temperature is about 47 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Hamel loam with a 2 percent concave slope on a glacial moraine in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; black (10YR 2/1) loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) dry; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; about 1 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--10 to 16 inches; black (10YR 2/1) loam, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; about 4 percent gravel; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of A horizon is 14 to 30 inches.)
AB--16 to 24 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; many fine prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) Fe concentrations; moderate fine angular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; about 4 percent gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick.)
Btg1--24 to 40 inches; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) clay loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; many fine prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) Fe concentrations; moderate medium prismatic structure; friable; few black (10YR 2/1) clay films on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.
Btg2--40 to 46 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay loam; many coarse prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) Fe concentrations; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few black (10YR 2/1) clay films on faces of peds; about 4 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Btg horizons is 12 to 30 inches.)
Cg1--46 to 55 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; massive; friable; about 3 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary.
Cg2--55 to 80 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) loam; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; massive; friable; about 4 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Wright County, Minnesota; about 1.5 miles southwest of Silver Creek, 1200 feet south and 2300 feet west of the northeast corner of Sec. 18, T.121 N., R.26 W., USGS Annandale quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 17 minutes 34 seconds N.; long. 94 degrees 00 minutes 13 seconds W., NAD27
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to free carbonates range from 30 to 65 inches. The mollic epipedon thickness ranges from 24 to 60 inches. Typically the upper colluvim contains less than 2 percent gravel by volume and the lower part contains 2 to 6 percent gravel by volume of mixed lithology.
The A horizons have hue of 10YR or is neutral, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 0 to 2. Typically it is loam or clay loam, but silt loam or silty clay loam are within the range. It has coatings of clean sand and silt particles in the lower part of the A horizon in some pedons. It is moderately acid to neutral.
The Btg horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is clay loam, silty clay loam high in sand, or loam. It has between 25 and 35 percent clay and 15 to 35 percent fine sand and coarser. It has B/A clay ratios of 1.2 to 1.4. It has few to many, faint to prominent clay films. It is moderately acid to neutral.
The C horizon has hue of a 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 1 or 2. It is loam or clay loam. It is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. The clay content ranges from 18 to 32 percent and the total sand content ranges from 25 to 45 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Alvada,
Barry,
Berville,
Brookston,
Buntingville,
Clackamas,
Cordova,
Forestcity,
Jameston,
Marengo,
Millgrove,
Navan,
Nosoni,
Rensselaer, and
Westland soils. The Alvada series (Tentative - OH) is not in the OSD file at this time. The Barry, Berville, Brookston, Cordova, Marengo, Millgrove, Navan, Rensselaer, and Westland soils have a mollic epipedon that is less than 24 inches thick. The Buntingville soils have carbonates at depths of less than 20 inches. The Clackamas and Nosoni soils lack free carbonates in the series control section.
The
Forestcity soils have 45 to 65 percent sand and 10 to 18 percent clay in the underlying material. The
Jamestown soils formed in a firm and very firm till associated with the Iowan Erosional surface.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hamel soils have concave slopes in swales, rims of closed depressions, foot and toe slopes, and upper drainageways below sloping to very steep slopes. Slope gradients are 1 to 4 percent. Hamel soils formed in slope colluvium and glacial till of Late Wisconsinan Age. Mean annual air temperature is about 45 to 48 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is about 25 to 30 inches. Frost free days range from 125 to 165. Elevation above sea level ranges from 700 to 1600 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are principally the
Hayden and
Lester soils. These soils are well drained and are on the higher lying, gently sloping to very steep slopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained and somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is low or moderately low. Permeability is moderately slow. The apparent seasonal high water table is at .5 to 1.5 feet for the poorly drained phase and 1.5 to 2.5 feet for the somewhat poorly drained phase during spring in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is cropped to corn, hay, soybeans, and small grains. However, significant areas are in pasture and forest. Native vegetation is mixed wet-mesic prairie species such as big bluestem, switchgrass, prairie cordgrass, wooly sedge, giant goldenrod, Canada goldenrod and deciduous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Primarily in the southeast one-quarter of Minnesota in the timbered, hilly, "gray" till region. Moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Hennepin County, Minnesota, 1969.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 40 inches (Ap, A, AB and Btg1); argillic horizon - the zone from 24 to 46 inches (Btg1, Btg2,). Type location moved from Hennepin County, Mn. to Wright County, Mn., 11/96 to better exemplify the series concept.
A somewhat poorly drained overwash phase is recognized that has 8 to 20 inches of colluvium over the original dark colored surface.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MAES Central File Code No. 785 for results of some laboratory analysis of this series.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.