LOCATION MCDONALDSVILLE ND+MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey over sandy or sandy-skeletal, smectitic over mixed, frigid Vertic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: McDonaldsville silty clay - on a plane slope of less than 1 percent under cropland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated. Where described, the soil was moist throughout.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; extremely hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--6 to 9 inches; black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine angular blocky structure; extremely hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined A horizons 7 to 14 inches thick)
Bw--9 to 23 inches; very dark gray (N 3/0) clay, gray (5Y 5/1) dry; strong fine angular blocky structure; extremely hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; tongues of A extend into the Bw horizon to depths of 20 inches; slightly acid; diffuse irregular boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)
BC--23 to 30 inches; olive gray (5Y 4/2) silty clay, olive gray (5Y 5/2) dry; common medium distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) mottles; moderate very fine angular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; some sand grains in cracks and on peds in lower part of horizon; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
2C1--30 to 36 inches; olive (5Y 4/3) loamy sand, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) dry; many fine prominent light gray (5Y 7/1) and distinct dark gray (5Y 4/1) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) mottles; single grain; slightly hard, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few shale pebbles; few masses of segregated carbonates; slight effervescence; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.
2C2--36 to 60 inches; olive (5Y 5/3) loamy sand, light gray (5Y 7/2) and pale yellow (5Y 7/3) dry; many fine distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) mottles; single grain; few shale pebbles; strong effervescence; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Pembina County, North Dakota; about 2 1/2 miles north and 1 mile east of Mountain; 2,340 feet north and 250 feet east of the southwest corner, sec. 36, T. 161 N., R. 56 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to sand typically is 28 to 36 inches and ranges from 20 to 40 inches. The mollic epipedon ranges from 15 to 24 inches in thickness and tongues extend into the B horizon to depths of as much as 30 inches in some pedons.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 2 or 3 and 3 to 5 dry, and chroma of 1. It is silty clay, clay or silty clay loam containing 35 to 60 percent clay. It is slightly acid to neutral.
The Bw horizon has hue of 2.5Y, 5Y or is neutral, value of 3 or 4 and 4 to 6 dry, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is slightly acid to moderately alkaline. It is clay, silty clay or clay loam that typically contains 45 to 60 percent clay. However, the clay content ranges to 35 percent in some pedons. The Bw horizon is calcareous in some pedons.
The 2C horizon has hue of 5Y or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5 and 4 to 7 dry, and chroma of 1 to 4. Where chroma is higher than 2, it has low chroma mottles. It is moderately alkaline. It is loamy fine sand, loamy sand or very fine sand. Some pedons have thin strata of sandy loam, very fine sandy loam or coarse sand. The 2C horizon contains as much as 5 to 15 percent coarse fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Acasco series as previously classified. The Acasco soils formed in alluvium principally from basalt, do not have a zone of carbonate accumulation and have up to 35 percent gravel fragments in the particle-size control section and from 15 to 45 percent in the 2C horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: McDonaldsville soils are on nearly level glacial lake plains, terraces, and deltas. Slope gradients are less than 3 percent. The soils formed in glaciolacustrine clay overlying sandy sediments. The climate is cool, subhumid with long cold winters and short warm summers. Mean annual temperature ranges from about 38 to 45 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation from 18 to 24 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Dovray, Fargo, Hegne and Ryan soils on the same lake plains. These soils do not have sandy 2C horizons within depths of 40 inches. Other soils on nearby areas are the Bearden, Brantford, Gardena, Glyndon, Overly, Vang and Walsh soils. Bearden and Overly soils are fine-silty. Brantford and Vang soils are fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal. Gardena and Glyndon soils are coarse-silty. Walsh soils are fine-loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is slow in the solum and rapid in the 2C horizon. A seasonal high water table is at a depth of 0.5 foot to 1.5 feet below the surface at some time during the period of March through July.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all McDonaldsville soils are cropped to small grains, alfalfa or sugar beets. Native vegetation is tall prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. The soil is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pembina County, North Dakota, 1972.
REMARKS: Revised 2/94.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 23 inches (Ap, A, and Bw horizons); characteristics associated with wetness - chroma of 1 or less in the lower part of the mollic epipedon (Bw horizon) and value of 4 or more, chroma of 3 or less, hue of 5Y, and distinct mottles immediately below the mollic epipedon (BC horizon); vertic subgroup criteria - LE of more than 6 in the upper meter.