LOCATION MESABA MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Dystric Eutrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Mesaba gravelly sandy loam on a 9 percent slope under a mixed coniferous and deciduous forest at an elevation of 463 meters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 8 cm; black (10YR 2/1) gravelly sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots and few coarse; 12 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Thickness of the A horizon is 3-13 cm)
Bw1--8 to 25 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium roots and few coarse; 12 percent gravel and 6 percent cobbles; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw2--25 to 51 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and medium roots; 16 percent gravel and 7 percent cobbles; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw3--51 to 74 cm; brown (7.5YR4/3) gravelly sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine and medium roots; 18 percent gravel and 7 percent cobbles; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 48 to 99 cm)
2R--74 to 203 cm; fractured bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: St. Louis County, Minnesota, 780 feet north and 1300 feet west of the southeast corner of section 25, T54N, R14W. USGS Boulder Lake Reservoir SE, Minnesota Quadrangle; latitude 47 degrees, 07 minutes, 38 seconds north and longitude 92 degrees, 03 minutes 11 seconds west. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock is 51 to 102 cm.
Some pedons have a thin O horizon (duff layer).
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is sandy loam, silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam or their gravelly analogues. Rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 15 percent with 5 to 15 percent gravel, 5 to 5 percent cobbles and 0 to 3 percent stones and boulders. It averages between 30 and 55 percent sand with 5 to 15 percent clay. It is very strongly acid to moderately acid.
Some pedons have a thin or discontinuous E horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam, silt loam, loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam or their gravelly analogues. Rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 20 percent with 5 to 18 percent gravel, 5 to 7 percent cobbles and 0 to 3 percent stones and boulders. It averages between 35 to 60 percent sand with 5 to 15 percent clay. It is strongly acid or moderately acid.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ahmeek, Aldenlake, and Linneus series. Ahmeek and Aldenlake soils do not have a bedrock contact in the series control section. Linneus soils have limestone, calcareous sandstone or calcareous shale at depths of 51 to 102 cm.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils occur on complex bedrock controlled surfaces. They formed in friable loamy till deposits from the Superior lobe of the late Wisconsinan glaciation. The till is 51 to 102 cm in thickness and overlies basalt, granite or gabbro bedrock. Mean annual temperature ranges from 2 to 6 degrees C, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 710 to 790 mm. Annual frost-free days range from 80 to 140 days. The elevation above sea level ranges from 200 to 600 meters.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: On the Highland moraine these are the very deep Ahmeek, Normanna, Hermantown, Canosia, and Giese soils and the shallow Barto soils. The well drained Ahmeek soils occur on shoulders and sideslopes. The moderately well drained Normanna soils occur on summits and sideslopes. The somewhat poorly drained Hermantown soils occur on footlsopes, flats and slight rises on flats. The poorly drained Canosia soils occur on toeslopes, flats and in slight depressions. The very poorly drained Giese soils occur in depressions and swales. The well drained Barto soils occur on complex bedrock controlled surfaces.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is medium to rapid. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is 4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second (.6 to 2.0 inches per hour).
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are mostly in mixed deciduous and coniferous forest. Major resource uses are related to timber, recreation, and wildlife habitat.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA-93A. Northeastern Minnesota. Moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kawishiwi Area, Minnesota, 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 8 cm (A horizon); Cambic horizon - the zone from 8 to 74 cm (Bw1, Bw2, Bw3 horizons); great group class based on base saturation above 60 percent in a layer between 25 and 75 cm from the soil surface.
The type location was moved from the Kawishiwi Area to this area to better represent the series.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MAES Central File Code No. 570 and 910 for results of some laboratory analysis of this series.