LOCATION HILLCITY MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Oxyaquic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Hillcity silt loam, on a linear slope of 4 percent, under northern hardwoods forest. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe--0 to 2 inches; well decomposed organic litter. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E--2 to 6 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; moderate medium and thin platy structure; very friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Bw--6 to 17 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
E'--17 to 20 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sandy loam; light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; weak thin platy structure; very friable; many very fine roots; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
B/E--20 to 24 inches; about 70 percent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam (Bt) with 30 percent tongues of pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam (E); weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine roots; common faint pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt coats on faces of peds; few discontinuous distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
Bt--24 to 32 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on the faces of peds; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 11 inches thick)
E and Bt--32 to 43 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very fine sandy loam (E) interspersed with yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very fine sandy loam (Bt) lamellae; weak very thick and thick platy structure; very friable; common very fine roots; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) Fe concentrations in the lower part of the horizon; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 21 inches thick)
2C--43 to 80 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) loam; massive; friable; few very fine roots; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) Fe concentrations and few fine faint light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) Fe depletions; 3 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Aitkin County, Minnesota; about 4 miles east of Hill City; located about 1,000 feet north and 900 feet east of the southwest corner of section 15, T. 52 N., R. 25 W.; USGS Hill City topographic quadrangle; lat. 46 degrees 59 minutes 21 seconds N. and long. 93 degrees 30 minutes 16 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to carbonates ranges from 40 to more than 70 inches. The argillic horizon averages 6 to 18 percent clay. The eolian material ranges from 40 to 60 inches thick. It is mainly silt and very fine sand with less than 15 percent fine sand and coarser particles. Some pedons have a thin (less than 6 inches) lag layer at the base of the eolian material. It ranges from sand to coarse sandy loam and has 5 to 25 percent by volume of pebbles. The soil moisture control section is dry in one or more horizons for some time in most years.
The Oa or Oe horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is partially decomposed or well decomposed litter of leaves, needles, twigs and mosses. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The A horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or loamy very fine sand. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is at least one unit of chroma higher than the overlying E horizon. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or loam. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The E' horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam or loamy very fine sand. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The B/E horizon has hue, values and chroma of the E' horizon above, and the Bt horizon below. The Bt part comprises 50 to 85 percent of the horizon. The E part is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or loamy very fine sand. The Bt part is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or loam. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or loam. Common or many, faint or distinct clay films are on the faces of peds. Reaction is moderately acid to neutral.
The E&Bt horizon is comprised of lamellae. The E part has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. The Bt part has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. The Bt is silt loam or very fine sandy loam, and the E is very fine sandy loam or loamy very fine sand. Reaction is moderately acid to neutral.
Some pedons have a BC or 2BC horizon.
Where present, the C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or loamy very fine sand. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The 2C horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 5. It is loam, sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam. It has 5 to 10 percent rock fragments by volume. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hillcity soils are on convex surfaces on glacial moraines. They formed in a silty eolian mantle over loamy glacial till. Slopes are mostly complex and range from 1 to 6 percent. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 39 to 43 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 24 to 28 inches. Frost-free period ranges from 90 to 120 days. Elevation ranges from 1,200 to 1,600 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the well drained Itasca, Warba, and Cushing soils and the very poorly drained Sax and Cathro soils. The Itasca, Warba and Cushing soils have loamy glacial till at depths less than 40 inches (commonly less than 20 inches). These soils occupy similar positions on the landscape. Minor areas of Sax and Cathro soils are in depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is moderately low. Permeability is moderate. The perched seasonal high water table is as high as 2.5 to 3.5 feet at some time during April and May in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested. Native vegetation is deciduous forest with aspen, basswood, red oak, sugar maple and paper birch being common species. A minor proportion is cleared and used for production of hay, pasture and small grains.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Central Minnesota, primarily in Aitkin County. This series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Aitkin County, Minnesota, 1995.
REMARKS: The diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the mineral soil surface to 6 inches (Oe and E horizons); Albic horizon - the zones from 2 to 6 inches and 17 to 20 inches (E and E' horizons); Cambic horizon - the zone from 6 to 17 inches (Bw horizon); Glossic horizon - the zone from 20 to 24 inches (B/E horizon); argillic horizon - the zone from 20 to 43 inches (B/E, Bt and E&Bt horizons); Oxyaquic subgroup - the presence of redoximorphic concentrations and saturation above 100cm. Base saturation greater than 60 percent in all parts of the argillic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Central File Code No. 3945 for some laboratory analysis of a representative pedon. Soil Interpretation Record No. MN0685.