LOCATION MAJESTIC MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, frigid Oxyaquic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Majestic sandy loam on a convex 2 percent slope in a stand of aspen on an outwash-mantled till plain. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A-- 0 to 4 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; common very fine to medium roots throughout; 5 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick.)
Bw1-- 4 to 13 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine to medium roots throughout; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; 7 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw2--13 to 34 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; few fine and medium roots throughout; very friable; common fine distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) Fe concentrations; 5 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw is 15 to 35 inches.)
2B/E-- 34 to 38 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) (Bt horizon - 80 percent) grayish brown (10YR 5/2) (E horizon - 20 percent) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on ped faces; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; 4 percent gravel, 2 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick.)
2Bt-- 38 to 59 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on ped faces; 4 percent gravel, 2 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 35 inches thick.)
2BCd--59 to 80 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay; moderate extremely coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; firm; 4 percent gravel, 2 percent cobbles, 1 percent stones; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: St. Louis County, Minnesota, about 1 mile south and 1 mile east of Chisholm; about 1700 feet north and 900 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 34, T. 58 N., R. 20 W. USGS Buhl, Minnesota Quadrangle; latitude 47 degrees 27 minutes 28 seconds N. and longitude 92 degrees 51 minutes 16 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the mantle ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to dense till is 45 to 60 inches. The depth to carbonates is greater than 60 inches. Redoximorphic concentrations occur above 40 inches. Rock fragment content, by volume, ranges from 0 to 14 percent in the mantle and from 1 to 8 percent in the underlying till. A thin lag line with as much as 30 percent rock fragments is at the contact of the two sediments in some pedons.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 to 3. Some pedons have an Ap horizon ranging from 6 to 9 inches in thickness. Texture is sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture of the upper Bw is sandy loam, fine sandy loam or loam. Texture of the lower Bw is loamy sand, loamy fine sand or fine sand. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The 2B/E horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is clay loam or clay. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The 2Bt horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is clay or clay loam. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The 2BC horizon (when present) has colors and textures similar to the 2Bt horizon. Reaction is moderately acid to neutral.
The 2BCd horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR and value and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is clay or clay loam. Reaction is slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Hibbing, Portwing (T) and Sanborg series. Hibbing, Portwing and Sanborg soils do not have sandy textures in the upper part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Majestic soils are on linear or convex surfaces of till plains and moraines. Slopes range from 1 to 8 percent. They formed in a 20 to 40 inch mantle of sandy glacial outwash or eolian sediments and underlying fine, dense glacial till deposited by the St. Louis sublobe of late Wisconsin age. Mean annual air temperature is 38 to 41 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is 25 to 28 inches. The frost-free period is 95 to 125 days. Elevation above sea level is 1250 to 1600 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Buhl, Daisybay, Dora, Fayal, Hibbing, McQuade, Mooseline, Rifle, and Turpela soils. The somewhat poorly drained Mooseline and poorly drained Turpela soils form a hydrosequence with Majestic soils. The somewhat poorly drained Buhl, moderately well drained Hibbing, poorly drained McQuade and very poorly drained Fayal soils form a hydrosequence and do not have a coarse-textured mantle. The very poorly drained Daisybay and Dora soils occur on broad flats and in depressions and formed in organic materials over till. The very poorly drained Rifle soils are in depressions and formed in organic material.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is low to medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately rapid in the upper part and very slow in the lower part. Majestic soils have perched seasonal high saturation for short periods at a depth of 2.0 feet at some time from April through May and October through November in years of normal preciptitation.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested. Principal trees are aspen, paper birch, red maple, balsam fir, red pine, white pine and jack pine. Some areas are used for cropland, pastureland or hayland. Native vegetation is mixed coniferous and deciduous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA-88. Northeast Minnesota. Small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: St. Louis County, Minnesota 2005.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 4 inches (A horizon); Argillic horizon - the zone from 34 to 59 inches (2B/E and 2Bt horizon); Densic materials - the zone from 59 to 80 inches (2BCd horizon).