LOCATION KANE IL+OH WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Argiudolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Kane silt loam - in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 237 meters (778 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; common very fine roots; common distinct black (N 2.5/) organic coatings on faces of peds and in pores; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
A--13 to 30 cm (5 to 12 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine granular; friable; common very fine roots; few distinct black (N 2.5/) organic coatings on faces of peds and in pores; 1 percent gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches).]
Bt1--30 to 41 cm (12 to 16 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; few distinct black (10YR 2/1) organo-clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common distinct dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 1 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--41 to 56 cm (16 to 22 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common very fine roots; few distinct black (10YR 2/1) organo-clay films in root channels and pores; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) and few distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 8 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 15 to 46 cm (6 to 18 inches).]
2Bt3--56 to 74 cm (22 to 29 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/4) stratified sandy clay loam and sandy loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; few distinct black (10YR 2/1) organo-clay films in root channels and pores; few distinct very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) organo-clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 14 percent gravel; slightly effervescent on rock fragments; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [8 to 30 cm (3 to 12 inches) thick]
3C--74 to 152 cm (29 to 60 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 and 10YR 5/6) gravelly sand and gravelly loamy sand; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; 25 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: McHenry County, Illinois; 158 m (520 feet) north and 501 m (1,645 feet) east of the southwest corner of sec. 27, T. 46 N., R. 8 E.; USGS Richmond topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 25 minutes 51 seconds N. and long. 88 degrees 17 minutes 25 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 393863 easting and 4698428 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of soil development ranges from about 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches), and commonly is the same as the depth to carbonates. The depth to horizons with greater than 60 percent sand and greater than 15 percent rock fragments ranges from 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches). The silty mantle is 0 to 51 cm (0 to 20 inches) thick. The mollic epipedon ranges from 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches) in thickness.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam, loam, or silty clay loam, or less commonly sandy loam. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly alkaline.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. It is clay loam or loam, but includes silty clay loam in the upper part when the silty mantle is present. It averages 25 to 35 percent clay. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to neutral.
The 2Bt or 2BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. It is sandy clay loam, loam, or sandy loam and is commonly stratified. Clay content ranges from 15 to 30 percent, sand content ranges from 30 to 60 percent, and gravel content ranges from 5 to 15 percent. Some pedons have a "beta" horizon that is somewhat darker colored than the 2Bt or 2BC horizon. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The 3C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. It ranges from gravelly loamy sand to extremely gravelly coarse sand. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Coot series. Coot soils have a paralithic contact within 152 cm (60 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kane soils are on nearly level outwash plains or stream terraces. Slope gradients range from 0 to 3 percent. These soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loamy outwash over stratified calcareous gravel and sand. A surface mantle of silty material as much as 51 cm (20 inches) thick is present in many places. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7 to 12 degrees C (45 to 54 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 710 to 1020 mm (28 to 40 inches), frost-free period ranges from 140 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 156 to 311 m (512 to 1020 feet) above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Dresden, Fox, Homer, Ionia, Lorenzo, Matherton, Sebewa, Warsaw, and Will soils. Kane soils are in a drainage sequence with the well drained Warsaw, poorly drained Will, and the poorly and very poorly drained Sebewa soils. On nearby landforms are the Dresden, Matherton, Fox, Ionia, Homer, and Lorenzo soils. The well drained Dresden and the somewhat poorly drained Matherton soils are mollic intergrades to Alfisols formed in similar materials. The well drained Fox, moderately well drained Ionia, and somewhat poorly drained Homer soils lack mollic epipedons and formed in similar materials. The Lorenzo soils are well drained.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. An intermittent apparent high water table is at a depth of 15 to 61 cm (0.5 foot to 2.0 feet) at some time in most years. The potential for surface runoff is low or medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second) in the solum, and very high (greater than 141.11 micrometers per second) in the underlying material. (Permeability is moderate in the solum and very rapid in the underlying material.)
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, and small grain are the principal crops. Some areas are used for pasture or growing vegetable crops. Native vegetation is prairie grasses (tall prairie).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, and western Ohio. The extent is moderate in MLRAs 95B, 108A, 110, and 111A.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McHenry County, Illinois, 1960.
REMARKS: A clayey substratum phase is recognized. It will be investigated during MLRA update activities and possibly a new soil series will be established.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 30 cm (12 inches) (Ap and A horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 30 to 74 cm (12 to 29 inches) (Bt1, Bt2, and 2Bt3 horizons); strongly contrasting particle-size classes - the contact between the 2Bt3 and 3C horizons; udic moisture regime.