LOCATION MAINCREEK WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Aquic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Maincreek silt loam - on a west-facing 1 percent slope in an area of idle cropland at an elevation of about 1328 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; many very fine to medium roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
E--8 to 11 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry; weak fine platy structure; friable; many very fine and fine roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron accumulations; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
E/B--11 to 18 inches; about 80 percent brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam (E), very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; weak medium platy structure; very friable; extends as tongues into and surrounds remnants of dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam (Bt); weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; common fine and medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron accumulations and few medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
B/E--18 to 23 inches; about 60 percent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam (Bt); weak medium prismatic structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; penetrated by tongues of brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam (E), very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; weak medium platy structure; very friable; common very fine and fine roots; about 3 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; many medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron accumulations and common medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Glossic horizon - 4 to 25 inches thick)
Bt--23 to 28 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak medium platy structure parting to weak very fine subangular blocky; friable; few very fine and fine roots; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel and 3 percent cobbles; common fine distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions and common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron accumulations; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
2BCd--28 to 35 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) very gravelly sandy loam; massive, tends to part along horizontal cleavage planes inherited from the parent material; very firm; few distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay bridges between mineral grains; about 45 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
3BC--35 to 54 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) extremely gravelly loamy sand; massive; friable, but ranges to firm in some areas; very few faint dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay bridges between sand grains; about 55 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 25 inches thick)
3C--54 to 80 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) stratified very gravelly sand and gravelly sand; single grain; loose; an average of about 35 percent gravel and 8 percent cobbles; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Rusk County, Wisconsin; about 0.5 miles south and 1 mile west of Hawkins; 1,900 feet north and 600 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 21, T. 35N., R. 3 W.; Jump River Fire Tower NW USGS quad; lat. 45 degrees 29 minutes 53.4 seconds N. and long. 90 degrees 44 minutes 34.0 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the silty mantle ranges from 12 to 36 inches. Depth to a densic contact ranges from 20 to 38 inches. Depth to stratified gravelly and sandy outwash ranges from 22 to 40 inches. The particle-size control section averages 8 to 17 percent clay and 15 to 50 percent fine sand or coarser. The outwash has more than 85 percent sand. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the loess or silty alluvium and from 0 to 40 percent in the loamy diamicton. Volume of gravel in the outwash ranges from 3 to 45 percent as a weighted average, but ranges from 0 to 65 percent in individual strata. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the silty mantle, and from 0 to 10 percent in the loamy diamicton and underlying gravelly and sandy outwash. A few stones are on the surface or in the solum in some areas. Reaction typically ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the solum, but ranges to neutral in the upper part, where the soil is limed. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum. Free carbonates are absent to depths of more than 5 feet. Redoximorphic concentrations are typically throughout the soil below the A horizon. Redoximorphic depletions are within the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon. Saturation occurs in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon at some time in most years.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. Non-cultivated pedons have an A horizon up to 5 inches thick with hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture of the Ap or A horizon is silt loam.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture is silt loam or silt.
Maincreek soils have a glossic horizon. Horizonation has a wide range depending on the thickness of the silty mantle and the extent to which eluviation has occurred. Therefore, there can be E/B, B/E, 2E/B, or 2B/E horizons singly or in combination, with or without Bt or 2Bt horizons.
The E part of the E/B or B/E horizons has color and texture like the E horizon described above.
The Bt part of the E/B or B/E horizons, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is silt loam.
The Bt horizon has color and texture like the Bt part described above.
The 2E part of the 2E/B or 2B/E horizons, has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs. The 2Bt part of the 2E/B or 2B/E horizons, has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs.
Some pedons have a 2Bt horizon with color and texture like the 2Bt part described above. Some pedons have a 2Btg horizon with dominant chroma of 2.
The 2BCd horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs. Bulk density ranges from 1.8 to 2.0 gm/cc.
The 3BC horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture is loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sand, or coarse sand or the gravelly, very gravelly, or extremely gravelly analogs.
The 3C horizon has color like the 3Bt horizon described above. It is typically stratified sand, coarse sand, or the gravelly or very gravelly analogs, but some individual strata may be extremely gravelly.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brennyville, Fallcreek, Glendenning, Hatley, Magnor, Magroc, Mora, Oesterle, Plover, Rosy, and Stinnett series. Brennyville, Magnor, Mora, and Stinnett soils have a densic contact at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Glendenning soils have a densic contact at depths of 60 to 80 inches. Fallcreek, Hatley, Magroc, Oesterle, Plover, and Rosy soils do not have a densic layer. In addition, Magroc soils have a lithic contact at 40 to 60 inches. Plover soils have stratified loamy and sandy lacustrine deposits within 40 inches. Rosy soils have carbonates in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: Formed in 20 to 40 inches of loess or silty alluvium and in densic loamy diamicton, underlain by stratified gravelly and sandy outwash.
Landform: Outwash plains, stream terraces, outwash terraces, glacial lake plains, glacial drainageways, and outwash areas of moraines.
Slope: 0 to 3 percent.
Elevation: 800 to 1950 feet.
Mean annual air temperature: 39 to 45 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: 28 to 33 inches.
Frost-free days: 90 to 135 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Antigo and Sconsin soils. The well drained Antigo soils and the moderately well drained Sconsin soils form a drainage sequence with Maincreek soils. Antigo and Sconsin soils are on higher or more sloping landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Surface runoff is low. Permeability is moderate in the silty and loamy mantle above the densic contact, slow or very slow in the dense loamy diamicton, and rapid or very rapid in the underlying outwash. Maincreek soils have a perched seasonal water table above the densic contact at a depth of 0.5 to 1.5 feet at some time from March to June in normal years. Internal drainage is restricted by the dense loamy diamicton.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for cropland or woodland. Native vegetation is mixed deciduous and coniferous forest. Timber stands are mostly red maple, balsam fir, and quaking aspen, but sugar maple, white ash, yellow birch, paper birch, and American hornbeam occur in some stands. Some areas have been cleared and are used for cropland or pastureland. Corn, small grain, and hay are the principal crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Wisconsin. LRR K, MLRA 90A, and MLRA 90B. These soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Rusk County, Wisconsin, 2003. The source of the name is Main Creek in eastern Rusk County.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle size control section - 18 to 28 inches.
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 18 inches (Ap, E, E/B).
Albic horizon - 8 to 18 inches (E, E part of the E/B).
Glossic horizon - 11 to 23 inches (E/B, B/E).
Argillic horizon - 18 to 28 inches (B/E, Bt).
Densic contact - the contact with dense loamy diamicton (2BCd) at 28 inches.
Redoximorphic concentrations - oxidized color features in the zone from 8 to 28 inches.
Redoximorphic depletions - reduced color features in the zone from 11 to 28 inches.
Lithologic discontinuity - at the upper boundary of the 2BCd horizon at 28 inches and at the upper boundary of the 3BC horizon at 35 inches.
Aquic conditions in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to soil survey sample number S03WI107-006 for NSSL data on the typical pedon.