LOCATION ITASCA MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Haplic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Itasca silt loam with a 5 percent convex slope on a glacial moraine in a mixed hardwood forest. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oe--0 to 1 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic litter, mainly leaves and twigs. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E--1 to 4 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam, light gray (10YR 7/1) dry; weak very fine crumb and weak very thin platy structure; very friable; many medium roots; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bw--4 to 10 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/4) dry; weak very fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many medium roots; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 13 inches thick)
E'--10 to 20 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many medium roots; common vesicular pores; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 11 inches thick)
2E/B--20 to 25 inches; 80 percent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) (E'), and 20 percent dark brown (10YR 4/3) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) (Bt), fine sandy loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; common vesicular pores; about 3 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
2B/E--25 to 36 inches; 70 percent dark brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam (Bt) with 30 percent tongues of grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam (E'); weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3 and 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; common fine roots; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of 2E/B and 2B/E horizons is 6 to 20 inches.)
2Bt1--36 to 44 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) fine sandy loam; moderate coarse and medium angular blocky structure parting to weak distinct platy; firm; many thin dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films on faces of blocky peds; few dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) coatings; about 5 percent gravel; common fine roots; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt2--44 to 56 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam; weak very coarse angular and subangular blocky structure parting to weak thin platy structure; firm; common distinct dark brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; few dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) coatings; few strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) soft iron nodules; about 5 percent gravel; common fine roots; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined Bt horizon is 14 to 38 inches thick.)
2C--56 to 69 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) fine sandy loam; massive; friable; about 5 percent gravel; few fine roots; few light gray (10YR 7/2) lime threads; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Itasca County, Minnesota; about 3 miles south and 4 miles west of Grand Rapids; 1,320 feet west and 1,055 feet north from the southeast corner of sec. 2, T. 54 N., R. 26 W.; USGS Quadrangle Grand Rapids, Minn.; Latitude 47 degrees 11 minutes 1 second N., and Longitude 93 degrees 36 minutes 11 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to free carbonates ranges from 48 inches to more than 72 inches. The silty and loamy mantle (material 1), which has 0 to 2 percent of rock fragments, ranges from 10 to 32 inches thick. It typically has less than 50 percent of particles coarser than very fine sand. The glacial till (material 2) has 55 to 70 percent of sand and 2 to 8 percent gravel and 0 to 2 percent cobbles of mixed lithology. A lag line with as much as 35 percent (by volume) of rock fragments is at the base of the upper sediment in some pedons.
The O horizon is comprised of accumulated remains of deciduous tree leaves, conifer tree nedles, and forest floor flora. It is Oa, Oe, or Oi. The hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is moderately acid or slightly acid.
The A horizon, when present, has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. When mixed to 7 inches, the moist value is 3 or 4 and the dry value is 6 or 7. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.
The E horizon has has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam or fine sandy loam. It is moderately or slightly acid.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, or fine sandy loam. It is moderately or strongly acid.
The E' horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loamy very fine sand. It has common or many fine vesicular pores. It is moderately or strongly acid. The glossic horizon has a 2E/B or a 2B/E horizon or both. The Bt and E parts each occupy 15 percent to 85 percent of the matrix. Colors and textures are similar to E and Bt horizons respectively. It has common or many, fine and very fine vesicular pores primarily in the E' material. It is moderately or strongly acid.
The 2Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam. The clay ranges from 8 to 18 percent. It has many, common or few, prominent to faint clay films on the faces of peds. It is moderately acid to neutral in the upper part and slightly acid to slightly alkaline in the lower part.
The 2C horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 7.5YR; value of 4 or 5; and chroma of 3 or 4. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam. The clay ranges from 8 to 15 percent. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Automba, Goodland, Millersburg, and Pemene series in the same family. The Automba soils have hue 5YR or redder in the lower part of the solum and in the C horizons and have dense till with bulk density greater than 1.8 gm/cc. The Goodland soil has coarser textured lower Bt and C horizon both having less than 8 percent clay. The Millersburg and Pemene soils have greater than 50 percent fine sand or coarser in the upper sequum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Itasca soils have convex slopes on undulating to steep moraines. Slope gradient dominantly is 3 to 12 percent, but ranges from 1 to 40 percent. These soils formed in a silty mantle of aeolian or lacustrine sediments and underlying loamy glacial till. Mean annual air temperature is 36 to 42 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 24 to 28 inches. Frost-free days range from 88 to 135. Elevation above sea level ranges from 1200 to 1600 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Goodland, Cathro, Hillcity, Mooselake, Stuntz, and Warba soils. The Goodland soils are well drained loamy soils with sandy substrata. They are on undulating to steep slopes. The Cathro and Mooselake soils are in depressions. Stuntz and Warba soils are on nearby landscapes; in some places they are intermingled with Itasca soils. The Hillcity soils are adjacent to or intermingled with the Itasca soils on undulating and rolling slopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is moderately low to high. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is forested. A few areas are cleared and used for production of hay, oats, and pasture. Native vegetation is deciduous forest with aspen, red oak, and sugar maple being dominant trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Central Minnesota, primarily in Itasca and Aitkin counties. This series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Itasca County, Minnesota, 1982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the mineral soil surface to 20 inches (E, Bw and E' horizons); albic horizon - the zone from 1 to 4 inches (E horizon); glossic horizon - the zone from 20 to 36 inches (2E/B and 2B/E horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from 25 to 56 inches (2B/E, 2Bt1, and 2Bt2 horizons). Base saturation above 60 percent in all parts of argillic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: See Minn. Ag. Exp. Station Central File Code CFC-1212 for laboratory analysis of Typical Pedon. See NSSL S82MN-061-001 for lab analysis of a representative pedon about 40 feet from the Typical Pedon. See also MAES CFC-2550 and CFC-2552 for laboratory analysis of representative pedons. Soil Interpretation Record number is MN0338.