LOCATION MIFFLIN WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Mifflin loam, on a 7 percent slope, in a cultivated field, at an elevation of about 950 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
E--8 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam; weak thick platy structure; very friable; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
BE--14 to 23 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--23 to 27 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint patchy clay films on faces of peds; organic stains on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--27 to 37 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; organic stains present on faces of peds; faint continuous clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of peds; moderately acid; gradual irregular boundary.
Bt3--37 to 43 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay loam; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm; slightly acid; dark organic stains on faces of peds; faint continuous clay films on vertical and horizontal faces of structural peds; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon ranges from 20 to 30 inches.)
R--43 inches; dolomite having a disintegrated or shattered upper few inches and soil-filled joints several inches in width that extend a foot or more in depth.
TYPE LOCATION: Lafayette County, Wisconsin; about 5 1/2 miles north of Argyle; located about 1,825 feet south and 90 feet west from the northeast corner of section 35, T. 4 N., R. 5 E., or 300 feet south and 90 feet west of the point where a farm road intersects State Highway 78 from the east; USGS Blanchardville topographic quadrangle; lat. 42 degrees 46 minutes 46 seconds N. and long. 89 degrees 51 minutes 31 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 55 inches and coincides with depth to bedrock. Some pedons have a thin loess mantle up to 15 inches thick. The solum typically does not have coarse fragments but some pedons have up to 2 percent by volume, especially in the B horizon immediately overlying the bedrock. The A horizon is moderately acid to neutral and the B horizon is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. Where present, the A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 2 or 3 and is 2 to 5 inches thick. The Ap or A horizon is silt loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 or 5. Textures are similar to the Ap or A horizons, but the clay content is somewhat lower.
The BE horizon has hue of 10YR, value and chroma is 4 or 5. It is sandy loam or loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, value and chroma is 4 to 6. It is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam. The clay content increases with depth in the Bt horizons reaching its maximum in subhorizons just above the bedrock. The particle-size control section averages between 18 and 30 percent clay and from 30 to 60 percent fine sand or coarser. Clay films are faint and patchy on faces of peds in the upper Bt horizon, but become nearly continuous in the lower part. In some pedons, the sandy limestone or sandy dolomite is continuous; in other pedons it is jointed to depths of several feet.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Amanda, Belmont, Belmore, Chenault, Chili, Coggon, Conestoga, Douds, El Dara, Gallman, Grellton, Hayden, Hebron, Hickory, High Gap, Hollinger, Kalamazoo, Kanawha, Kendallville, Kidder, Kosciusko, LeRoy, Letort, Lindley, Mandeville, Martinsville, McHenry, Miami, Military, Nodine, Norden, Ockley, Owosso, Pecatonica, Princeton, Rawson, Relay, Renova, Richland, Riddles, Rockbridge, Roseville, Sisson, Strawn, Summitville, Theresa, Wawasee, Westville, Whalan, and Woodbine soils in the same family. All of these soils except Belmont, Chenault, Grayford, High Gap, Mandeville, Military, Norden, Roseville, Summitville, Whalan, and Woodbine do not have a lithic or paralithic contact within a depth of 60 inches. Belmont soils have limestone at depths of 40 to 60 inches, but have more clay and less sand in the control section. Chenault soils have less sand in the B horizons and more coarse fragments. High Gap soils have stratified sandstone, shale, and siltstone at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Mandeville soils are underlain by soft silty shales at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Military and Norden soils have sandstone at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Roseville soils have limestone at depths of 40 to 60 inches, but have the major part of the B horizon formed in till. In addition, they have more pebbles and weatherable minerals in the B horizon. Summitville soils have a paralithic contact with interbedded red clay shale, siltstone, and sandstone at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Whalan soils have a lithic contact of limestone at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Woodbine soils have limestone at depths of 40 to 60 inches, but have silty clay or clay textures in the lower part of the solum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mifflin soils are on nearly level to steep convex and plane slopes on upland ridges underlain by limestone. Slope gradients dominantly are 6 and 12 percent but range from 2 to 30 percent. The soils formed in a moderately thick mantle of loamy residuum weathered from sandy dolomite or sandy limestone. Limestone is at a depth of 40 to 60 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 53 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 31 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Fayette, New Glarus, and Palsgrove soils. The Mifflin series is associated with New Glarus soils where sand content of the limestone or dolomite parent rock is so variable as to weather intermittently in the landscape to loamy (Mifflin series) and clayey (New Glarus series) residuum. Palsgrove soils are on positions contiguous to areas of Mifflin soils where the thickness of loess exceeds approximately 30 inches. Fayette soils are on areas of thicker loess.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is slow to rapid. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Native vegetation was mixed deciduous forests. Presently much of the land is in corn, small grain, and legumes. Pasture and forests are on steeper slopes.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The unglaciated regions of southwest Wisconsin. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lafayette County, Wisconsin, 1964.
REMARKS: The Roseville series is a close competitor and further study is needed to justify the two series.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include: ochric epipedon - zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 8 inches (Ap horizon); argillic horizon - zone from 23 to 43 inches (Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons); udic moisture regime; mesic temperature regime.