LOCATION MINER OH

Established Series
Rev. JAG
03/2015

MINER SERIES

The Miner series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils formed in low-lime till principally derived from acid shale on lake plains and till plains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1065 mm (42 in), and mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C (48 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Mollic Epiaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Miner silty clay loam on a 0 to 2 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 260 m (854 ft). (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 in); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate medium and fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (18 to 23 cm [7 to 9 in] thick)

Btg1--20 to 33 cm (8 to 13 in); dark gray (10YR 4/1) silty clay; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films and very dark gray (10YR 3/1) organic coatings on faces of peds; few prominent reddish brown (5YR 4/4) stains; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and few medium prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Btg2--33 to 56 cm (13 to 22 in); gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; firm; few fine roots; common faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films and many faint gray (10YR 5/1) coatings on faces of peds; few prominent reddish brown (5YR 4/4) stains; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and common medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) krotovinas; 2 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Btg3--56 to 91 cm (22 to 36 in); gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint gray (10YR 5/1) clay films and coatings on faces of peds; few distinct black (10YR 2/1) stains of iron and manganese oxide; many medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) krotovinas; 3 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizons is 36 to 102 cm [14 to 40 in]).

BCg--91 to 147 cm (36 to 58 in); gray (10YR 5/1) silty clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint gray (10YR 5/1) coatings on faces of peds; many medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 3 percent rock fragments; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 64 cm [0 to 25 in] thick).

C--147 to 152 cm (58 to 60 in); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; massive; firm; common coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and common medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) coatings on faces of vertical partings; 3 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Huron County, Ohio; Wakeman Township; about 2 miles north of Wakeman; 1,240 feet west and 750 feet south of the intersection of State Route 60 and Township Road 192; USGS Berlin Heights, Ohio topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 16 minutes, 30.3 seconds N. and longitude 82 degrees, 23 minutes, and 36.8 seconds W. NAD 1983.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 76 to 152 cm (30 to 60 in). The depth to carbonates ranges from 91 to 152 cm (36 to 60 in). Rock fragments are mainly shale with some sandstone, limestone, and crystalline rocks. Clay content averages 35 to 45 percent in the particle-size control section.

The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3 (5 or less dry), and chroma of 1 or 2. Some pedons have an A horizon 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) thick that has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3 (4 or 5 dry), and chroma of 1 or 2. They are silt loam or silty clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 2 percent. They are slightly acid or neutral.

The Btg and Bg horizons have hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or are neutral; value of 4 to 6; and chroma of 0 to 2. They are silty clay, clay, clay loam, or silty clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent in the upper part and from 2 to 10 percent in the lower part. They are moderately acid or slightly acid in upper part and moderately acid to neutral in the lower part.

The BCg or BC horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or is neutral, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 4. It is silty clay, silty clay loam, or clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.

The C horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or is neutral; value of 4 or 5; and chroma of 0 to 4. It is silty clay, silty clay loam, or clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline. Calcium carbonate content in horizons that contain free carbonates ranges from 5 to 15 percent.

In some places, bedrock is at depths of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 in), and the C horizon is silty clay or silty clay loam with channery analogues. This is identified as a shale substratum phase and is commonly noncalcareous.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Hoytville, Lorain, and Monee series. Hoytville soils have a calcium carbonate content of 15 to 30 percent in the C horizon. Lorain soils have less than 2 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Monee soils average more than 45 percent clay in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Miner soils are in shallow depressions and narrow drainageways on till plains which have been modified by lake action and lake plains. They formed in till principally derived from acid shale. The slope gradient ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Elevation ranges from 213 to 277 m (700 to 910 ft). Mean annual precipitation ranges from 830 to 1320 mm (33 to 52 in), and the mean annual temperature ranges from about 6 to 11 degrees C (43 to 52 degrees F). The frost-free period is 135 to 165 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Miner soils are in a toposequence with the moderately well drained Ellsworth, somewhat poorly drained Mahoning, and poorly drained Trumbull soils. The Ellsworth and Mahoning soils are in higher positions on the landscape than Miner soils. Trumbull soils are in similar landscape positions as Miner soils but typically have a surface layer that has color value of 4 or more, moist.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Very poorly drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low. Depth to the top of a perched and/or apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 30 cm (1.0 ft) above the surface to 15 cm (0.5 ft) below the surface from October to May in most years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible or low. Frequent long duration ponding occurs during extended wet periods.

USE AND VEGETATION: Cleared areas are used for small grain, soybeans, hay, and pasture with smaller amounts of corn. A large acreage remains in woodland in which elm, soft maple, and ash are the major species. Many areas adjacent to urban areas are in nonagricultural uses.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central and northeastern Ohio. MLRAs 111 and 139. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Huron County, Ohio, 1948.

REMARKS: As a result of the recent update of Erie Co., PA, the Miner series is no longer correlated in Pennsylvania. The shale substratum phase that has been correlated in earlier surveys will be recorrelated to a new series as part of a future MLRA project.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. ochric epipedon - 0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 in) (Ap horizon).
2. argillic horizon - 20 to 91 cm (8 to 36 in) (Btg1, Btg2, Btg3 horizons).
3. aquic conditions - 0 to 147 cm (0 to 58 in).

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.