LOCATION METONGA WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Entic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Metonga very fine sandy loam - on a convex southwest facing 11 percent slope in a woodland at an elevation of about 1450 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; black (10YR 2/1) very fine sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and common medium roots; about 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
E--3 to 4 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) very fine sandy loam; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and common medium roots; about 1 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt broken boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Bsl--4 to 7 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and common medium roots; about 1 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--7 to 23 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine and few medium roots; about 2 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bs3--23 to 25 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and few medium roots; about 2 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizons range from 4 to 22 inches)
2Bw--25 to 28 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; about 8 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 24 inches thick)
3R--28 inches; granite bedrock with some fracture more than 4 inches apart.
TYPE LOCATION: Forest County, Wisconsin; about 4 miles south and 9 miles east of Wabeno; 1,600 feet west and 500 feet north of the southeast corner, sec. 35, T. 34 N., R. 16 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the cambic horizon and depth to a lithic contact with igneous or metamorphic bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Thickness of the silty or loamy eolian mantle ranges from 12 to 40 inches. Volume of rock fragments is less than 35 percent in the particle-size control section. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the eolian mantle and from 5 to 35 percent in the till. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the eolian mantle and from 0 to 10 percent in the till. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid in the upper part of the solum and from strongly acid to slightly acid below the spodic horizon.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10 YR; value of 2 to 3; and chroma of 1 or 2. Cultivated pedons have an Ap horizon with hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 3 or 4; and chroma of 2 to 3. The A or Ap horizon is sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or silt loam.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 4 to 6; and chroma of 2 or 3. Colors of 4/3 and 5/3 have value dry of 7 or more. The E horizon is very fine sandy loam, silt loam, or fine sandy loam. It is present in 50 percent or more of each uncultivated pedon.
Some pedons have a Bhs horizon, less than 3 inches thick, with hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR and value and chroma of 2 or 3. It is very fine sandy loam, silt loam, or fine sandy loam.
The Bs horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6 or hue of 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4. It has texture like the Bhs horizon above or is sandy loam.
The 2Bw horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 3 to 6; and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam or the gravelly analogs.
The 3R horizon is fractured igneous or metamorphic bedrock. Fractures are more than 4 inches apart.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Longrie series. Longrie soils have free carbonates in the lower part of the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Metonga soils are on bedrock controlled uplands on moraines. Slope gradients range from 1 to 60 percent. They formed in silty or loamy eolian deposits and glacial till, underlain by igneous or metamorphic bedrock. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 33 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 39 to 45 degrees F. The frost-free period is estimated to range from 90 to 135 days. Elevation ranges from 700 to 1950 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Argonne, Gogebic, Goodman, Goodwit, Laona, Padus, Pence, Sarona, Sarwet, Soperton, Stambaugh, and Wabeno soils. The moderately well drained, Argonne, Gogebic, and Wabeno soils and the well drained Laona and Soperton soils are on landscape positions similar to those of Metonga soils, where there is a fragipan at a depth of 20 to 40 inches and depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. The moderately well drained Goodwit and Sarwet soils and the well drained Goodman and Sarona soils are in landscape positions similar to those of Metonga soils where the depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. The well drained Padus, Pence, and Stambaugh soils are on nearby areas where the soil is underlain by sand and gravel outwash and the depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is slow to very rapid. Permeability is moderate in the solum and very slow to rapid in the bedrock.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for woodland. Common trees are sugar maple, red maple, yellow birch, eastern hemlock, paper birch, and aspen. A few small areas are cleared and used for cropland and pastureland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Wisconsin. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Forest County, Wisconsin, 1995.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
ochric epipedon - 0 to 4 inches (A, E);
albic horizon - 3 to 4 inches (E);
spodic horizon - 4 to 25 inches (Bs1, Bs2, Bs3);
cambic horizon - 25 to 28 inches (2Bw);
other feature - lithic contact with granite at 38 inches (3R).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record - WI0514.