LOCATION KAWBAWGAM MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Epiaquods
TYPICAL PEDON: Kawbawgam sandy loam - forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa--2 to 0 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) well decomposed leaf litter and a large amount of mineral material; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
E--0 to 6 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/2) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
Bhs--6 to 10 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) sandy loam, many medium faint dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) mottles; weak very coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly cemented in places; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 8 inches thick)
Bs--10 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) sandy loam, many medium distinct dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
C--18 to 24 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy loam, common medium faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; massive; friable; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
2Cr--24 to 30 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) and reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) strongly acid sandstone bedrock; highly weathered. (1 to 10 inches thick)
2R--30 inches; pinkish white (7.5YR 8/2) and reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) strongly acid sandstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Alger County, Michigan; about 100 feet north of M-28, 2,500 feet west of USFS Road 2482, NE1/4SE1/4SE1/4 sec. 28, T. 47 N., R. 20 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to hard bedrock and solum thickness range from 20 to 40 inches. The soil is very strongly acid or strongly acid in the upper part and strongly acid or medium acid in the lower part. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 10 percent and coarse fragments greater than 3 inches range from 0 to 10 percent throughout the pedon. The average rock fragment content in the series control section ranges from 0 to 10 percent.
Some pedons have a 6 to 8 inch thick Ap horizon or a 1 to 4 inch thick A horizon with hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2. In some pedons, the E horizon is mottled. The Ap, A, and E horizons are dominantly sandy loam but the range includes loamy sand and fine sandy loam.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR and chroma of 2 or 3.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. The B horizons are sandy loam but the range includes fine sandy loam.
Some pedons have an E/B horizon above the bedrock. The E part has hue of 5YR, value of 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. The B part has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4, and chroma of 4.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Wayka series. The Wakya soils have more than 10 percent rock fragments in the particle size control section, do not have Bhs horizons and do not have paralithic materials. Similar soils are the Belding, Charlevoix, Coral, Deerton, Ensign, Gaastra, Monico, Nahma, Onota, Richter, Skanee, and Tula series. Sundell soils have less acid sola and are underlain by limestone bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Belding, Charlevoix, Coral, Gaastra, and Richter soils have argillic horizons and bedrock at depths of more than 40 inches. Deerton and Onota soils are without mottles in the E or upper part of the B horizon. In addition, Deerton soils are sandy. Ensign soils have limestone bedrock at depths of 10 to 20 inches. Monico, Skanee, and Tula soils are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock. Nahma soils do not have spodic horizons, have less acid sola, and are underlain by limestone bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kawbawgam soils are on nearly level to depressional areas on sandstone benches along Lake Superior shorelines. Slope gradients typically are 0 to 3 percent but some are as much as 12 percent. They formed in loamy glacial drift over sandstone bedrock. The underlying sandstone consists of the Jacobsville, Munising, and Freda formations. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 26 to 33 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 41 to 44 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the somewhat excessively drained Deerton soils, the well drained or moderately well drained Munising soils, the well drained Onota soils, the somewhat poorly drained Skanee soils, and the poorly drained Burt and very poorly drained Tacoosh soils. The Deerton, Munising, and Onota soils are on surrounding uplands; the Skanee soils are on similar landscape positions; and the Burt and Tacoosh soils are in depressions. The Munising and Skanee soils are deep loamy soils. The Deerton and Burt soils are moderately deep sandy deposits over sandstone bedrock. The Onota soil has moderately deep loamy deposits over sandstone bedrock. The Tacoosh soil is an organic soil. DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is slow. Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid. Internal drainage is impeded by the bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in forests of red and sugar maple, beech, yellow and white birch, hemlock, and balsam fir. A few areas are in pasture and haylands.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Upper Peninsula of Michigan along Lake Superior, westward from Munising. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Delta County, Michigan, 1969.
REMARKS: Classification adjusted to agree with ST Issue #17 on 6 Sept 94 by CLG.