LOCATION MILFORD IL+IN OH WI

Established Series
Rev. GOW-JCD-LMK-DEC
05/2013

MILFORD SERIES

The Milford series consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils formed in lacustrine sediments. These soils are on glacial lake plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C (51 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 965 mm (38 inches).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Milford silty clay loam - on a southeast-facing slope of 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 196 meters (643 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate very fine and fine subangular and angular blocky structure; firm; many fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

A--23 to 46 cm (9 to 18 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silty clay, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate and strong very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches).]

BA--46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate fine and medium angular blocky structure; very firm; common fine roots; many distinct black (10YR 2/1) organic coatings on faces of peds; common medium prominent olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) masses of oxidized iron-manganese in the matrix; common medium faint dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) iron depletions in the matrix; neutral; clear smooth boundary.[0 to 15 cm (0 to 6 inches) thick.]

Bg1--56 to 79 cm (22 to 31 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) silty clay loam; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium and coarse angular and subangular blocky; very firm; common fine roots; many faint dark gray (5Y 4/1) pressure faces on faces of peds; few fine black (N 2.5/) iron-manganese concretions throughout; many medium prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron-manganese in the matrix; many medium faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

Bg2--79 to 107 cm (31 to 42 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium and coarse angular blocky; very firm; few fine roots; common medium prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron-manganese and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear smooth boundary.

Bg3--107 to 127 cm (42 to 50 inches); dark gray (5Y 4/1) silty clay loam stratified with thin bands of clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse subangular and angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; many medium prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of oxidized iron-manganese and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral; clear wavy boundary.[Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 38 to 107 cm (15 to 42 inches).]

Cg--127 to 152 cm (50 to 60 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) clay loam stratified with bands of fine sandy loam, silty clay loam, and silty clay; massive; firm; few fine roots; many coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and many coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Iroquois County, Illinois; about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) southeast of Gilman; 1,450 feet (442 meters) north and 70 feet (21 meters) east of the southwest corner of sec. 4, T. 26 N., R. 14 W.; USGS Gilman topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees 45 minutes 25.1 seconds N. and long. 87 degrees 57 minutes 28.9 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 0419130 easting and 4512226 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 61 cm (10 to 24 inches), includes the upper part of the B horizon in some pedons.
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 91 to 152 cm (36 to 60 inches).
Average clay content of the particle-size control section: 35 to 42 percent.
Reaction of the series control section: dominantly slightly acid or neutral but ranges to moderately acid in the upper part and to moderately alkaline in the lower part.
Carbonates: present in the lower 1/4 of the series control section in some pedons.
Rock fragment content of the series control section: 0 to 5 percent

A, Ap, and/or AB horizons:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or neutral
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: commonly silty clay loam or clay loam, but includes silty clay or clay

Some pedons have 20 to 51 cm (8 to 20 inches) of silt loam overwash over the genetic A horizon.

Bg, Btg, and/or BCg horizons:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, or neutral. Hue of 10YR and neutral colors are less common than the others.
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: silty clay loam or silty clay in the upper part, typically grading to clay loam or silty clay loam in the lower part where it is stratified.

Some pedons have thin strata ranging from clay to fine sandy loam.

Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR, 2.5Y, or 5Y, or neutral; Hue of 10YR and neutral colors are less common than the others.
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: commonly clay loam or silty clay loam with thin layers ranging from sandy loam to clay.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ashkum, Secondcreek , and Woldale soils. Ashkum soils average more than 30 percent clay in all layers and subhorizons in the lower part of the series control section. Secondcreek soils are greater than 152 cm (60 inches) to the base of the cambic horizon. Woldale soils have very cobbly 2BC and 2Cg horizons in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Milford soils are on low broad summits or in depressions on glacial lake plains thought to be of Wisconsin Age. They formed in lacustrine sediments. Some areas have a thin mantle of outwash overlying the lacustrine sediments. Slope gradients commonly are less than 1 percent, but the range is 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 8 to 12 degrees C (46 to 53 degrees F), mean annual precipitation ranges from 737 to 1016 mm (29 to 40 inches), frost-free period ranges from 140 to 190 days, and elevation ranges from 155 to 305 meters (510 to 1,000 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Beecher, Bryce, Catlin, Del Rey, Drummer, Elliott, Flanagan, Markham, Martinton, Morley, Ozaukee, Selma, and Swygert soils. The moderately well drained Catlin, Markham, Morley, and Ozaukee soils and the somewhat poorly drained Beecher, Del Rey, Elliott, Flanagan, Martinton, and Swygert soils are on higher elevations or are more sloping, or both. The poorly drained Bryce, Drummer, and Selma soils are on similar landscape positions nearby. The Bryce soils have a 2B horizon in till and do not have strata in the lower part of the solum. The Drummer soils have less than 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Selma soils are fine-loamy.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained and very poorly drained. The apparent seasonal high water table is 15 cm (0.5 foot) above the soil surface to 31 cm (1.0 foot) below the surface at some time during the spring in most years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high (1.41 to 4.23 micrometers/s). Permeability is moderately slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for cultivated crops. Principal crops are corn and soybeans and other crops include small grain and meadow. Native vegetation is marsh grasses and sedges.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. These soils are of large extent in MLRAs 95B, 98, 99, 108A, 110, 111A, 111B, and 111D; more than 345,000 acres (139,620 hectares) correlated.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Iroquois County, Illinois, 1939.

REMARKS: A sandy substratum phase has been recognized for pedons underlain by sand within a depth of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches). A till substratum phase has been recognized for pedons underlain by till within a depth of 152 cm (60 inches). These phases will be evaluated during MLRA update activities to determine if new series need to be established.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon 0 to 56 cm (0 to 22 inches) (Ap, A, and BA horizons); cambic horizon 56 to 127 cm (22 to 50 inches) (Bg1, Bg2, and Bg3 horizons).

ADDITIONAL DATA: For laboratory analyses refer to Illinois Nos. 18495-18501.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.