LOCATION KANKAKEE ILEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Kankakee fine sandy loam - on a west-facing, convex slope of 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 194 meters (635 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many very fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many very fine roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 18 to 51 cm (7 to 20 inches).]
AB--25 to 36 cm (10 to 14 inches); dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many very fine and fine roots; many distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coatings on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches) thick]
Bt1--36 to 56 cm (14 to 22 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; common distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings on faces of peds; many distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent gravel; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. [8 to 38 cm (3 to 15 inches) thick]
2Bt2--56 to 69 cm (22 to 27 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very cobbly loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine roots; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 25 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. [8 to 38 cm (3 to 15 inches) thick]
2C--69 to 152 cm (27 to 60 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very cobbly loam; massive; friable; common very fine and fine roots; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 40 percent cobbles and 20 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Kankakee County, Illinois; about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) east and 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) south of Bonfield; 506 meters (1,660 feet) north and 66 meters (216 feet) east of the southwest corner of sec. 36, T. 31 N., R. 10 E.; USGS Herscher topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 07 minutes 21 seconds N. and long. 88 degrees 01 minutes 44 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 413625 easting and 4552870 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of soil development ranges from 51 to 114 cm (20 to 45 inches). Depth to cobbly material ranges from 25 to 76 cm (10 to 30 inches). Consolidated bedrock is at depths of 152 cm (5 feet) or more. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly alkaline in the upper part of the series control section and from slightly acid to moderately alkaline in the lower part. Typically the lower half of the series control section contains carbonates.
The Ap, A, or AB horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam.
The Bt, Bw, 2Bt, 2Bw, or 2BC horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Some faint redoximorphic features are in the lower part of some pedons. It is loam, sandy loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam in the upper part, and very cobbly or cobbly loam, or very cobbly or cobbly sandy loam in the lower part. Content of cobbles ranges from 0 to 60 percent.
The 2C horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. It is cobbly, very cobbly, or extremely cobbly analogs of loam or sandy loam. Content of cobbles ranges from 20 to 70 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bentonsport, Lacrescent, Marlean, and May City series. Bentonsport soils have a mollic epipedon greater than 61 cm (24 inches) thick. Lacrescent soils contain more than 10 percent cobbles in the upper part of the particle-size control section. Marlean soils are less than 51 cm (20 inches) to the base of soil development. May City soils have less than 20 percent cobbles in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils are on nearly level to moderately sloping outwash areas. The soils formed in outwash material and limestone cobbles and stones deposited by ice and rapidly moving water. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 8 to 12 degrees C (48 to 54 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 890 to 1020 mm (35 to 40 inches), frost-free period ranges from 140 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 155 to 311 meters (510 to 1020 feet) above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The somewhat poorly drained Bonfield soils are in drainage sequence with the well drained Kankakee soils. Kankakee soils are also associated with Gilford, Hoopeston, Bloomfield, Sparta, and Ade series which all lack limestone cobbles.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from negligible to medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers/s) in the upper part of the profile and high (14.11 to 42.33 micrometers/s) in the lower part. Permeability is moderate in the upper part of the profile and moderately rapid in the lower part.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most soil areas are cropped to corn, soybeans, small grains, and meadow. Some are used for pasture. Native vegetation is prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Illinois. Extent is small in MLRA 110.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kankakee County, Illinois, March 25, 1975.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 36 cm (0 to14 inches) (Ap, A, and AB horizons); cambic horizon - the zone from 36 to 69 cm (14 to 27 inches) (Bt1 and 2Bt2 horizons); udic moisture regime.