LOCATION MISSISSINEWA IN

Established Series
Rev. GRS-TRZ-TJE
11/2021

MISSISSINEWA SERIES

The Mississinewa series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that are shallow to dense till. Mississinewa soils formed in till and are on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 2 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 991 mm (39 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 11.1 degrees C (52 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey, illitic, mesic, shallow Aquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Mississinewa clay loam, on a 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 287 meters (940 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 13 cm (5 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 2 percent gravel; very slightly effervescent; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. [8 to 20 cm (3 to 8 inches) thick]

Bt--13 to 25 cm (5 to 10 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium angular blocky structure; firm; common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; common fine irregular black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese masses in the matrix; 2 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. [10 to 33 cm (4 to 13 inches) thick]

BCt--25 to 36 cm (10 to 14 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots in cracks; few very fine tubular pores; few distinct brown (10YR 4/3) clay films and light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings on faces of peds; common fine irregular black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese masses in the matrix; common fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. [8 to 28 cm (3 to 11 inches) thick]

Cd--36 to 203 cm (14 to 80 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; massive; very firm; few distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings on faces of cracks; few fine irregular black (10YR 2/1) iron-manganese masses in the matrix; 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Delaware, Indiana; about 2 miles northeast of Royerton; 100 feet east and 325 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 7, T. 21 N., R. 11 E.; USGS Eaton, Ind. topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 16 minutes 42 seconds N. and long. 085 degrees 19 minutes 48 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 641975 easting and 4459994 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 25 to 50 cm (10 to 20 inches)
Depth to densic contact: 25 to 50 cm (10 to 20 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 0 to 41 cm (0 to 16 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 35 to 50 percent clay and 15 to 25 percent sand

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Bt horizon:
Hue of 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam, clay, or silty clay loam
Clay content: 35 to 50 percent
Sand content: 15 to 25 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

BCt or CB horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 40 percent
Sand content: 15 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 10 to 20 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

Cd horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silty clay loam or clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 35 percent
Silt content: averages less than 50 percent
Sand content: 18 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Moist bulk density: 1.70 to 1.90 g/cc
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Cardington, Ellsworth, Geeburg, Glynwood, Mortimer, Pert, Shinrock, and Wyatt series are in closely related families but are not shallow to a root-limiting layer. Cardington, Ellsworth, Geeburg, Mortimer, Shinrock, and Wyatt soils are more than 50 cm (20 inches) to the base of argillic horizon. Glynwood soils are deeper than 50 cm (20 inches) to a densic contact. Pert soils have moist bulk density of less than 1.70 g/cc in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mississinewa soils are on shoulder slopes and backslopes on dissected till plains and recessional moraines of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 2 to 15 percent. The soils formed in clay loam or silty clay loam till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 914 to 1092 mm (36 to 43 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.9 to 12.2 degrees C (48 to 54 degrees F). Frost-free period is 150 to 180 days. Elevation is 183 to 335 meters (600 to 1100 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Blount, Glynwood, Morley, and Pewamo soils. The somewhat poorly drained Blount soils are on higher lying areas on summits and shoulder slopes. The moderately well drained Glynwood and Morley soils are moderately deep to dense till and are on similar landforms. The very poorly drained Pewamo soils are in depressions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Depth to the top of an intermittent perched high water table ranges from 30 to 61 cm (1 to 2 feet) during the winter and spring in normal years. Potential for surface water runoff is medium to very high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and moderately high to low in the underlying dense till. Permeability is moderately slow in the solum and slow or very slow in the underlying dense till.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used to grow corn and soybeans. A few areas are used for growing small grain, mainly wheat, and for hay and pasture. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 111B in east-central and northeastern Indiana. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Delaware County, Indiana, 1997.

REMARKS: Mississinewa soils have previously been correlated as thin solum phases of the Glynwood series and severely eroded phases of the Morley series.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 13 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 13 to 36 cm (Bt, BCt horizons).
Densic contact: at 36 cm (top of the Cd horizon).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the argillic horizon.

A representative data mapunit for the Mississinewa component is DMU ID 123729 in MO 11.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.