LOCATION ORION WI+IA IL MN MOEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Aquic Udifluvents
TYPICAL PEDON: Orion silt loam, on a 1 percent slope, in a cultivated area, at an elevation of about 270 meters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine to coarse roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 25 centimeters thick)
C--20 to 81 centimeters; stratified brown (10YR 4/3) and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam with thin strata of light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sand; massive breaking to thick plates along depositional strata; friable; common very fine and fine roots; few medium prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) masses of iron and few medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions within the matrix; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (25 to 125 centimeters thick)
Ab--81 to 100 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure breaking to very thick plates along depositional strata; friable; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions within the matrix; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (12 to 80 centimeters thick)
Cg--100 to 150 centimeters; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam; massive; friable; common coarse prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron within the matrix; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 105-Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills; Jackson County, Wisconsin subset; about 3 miles north of North Bend; located about 1,040 feet south and 2,340 feet east of the northwest corner of section 8, T. 19 N., R. 6 W.; USGS North Bend NE topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 08 minutes 25 seconds N. and long. 91 degrees 07 minutes 26 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to buried horizons--50 to 150 centimeters
Content of clay in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--10 to 18 percent
Content of sand in the particle-size control section (weighted average)--10 to 15 percent, fine sand and sand coarser than fine sand
Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--3 to 6
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--silt loam, but some pedons have thin strata of silt, loam, very fine sandy loam, loamy very fine sand, or very fine sand
Clay content--5 to 18 percent
Sand content--10 to 90 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to slightly alkaline
C horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture--stratified silt loam, silt, loam, very fine sandy loam, loamy very fine sand, or very fine sand
Clay content--5 to 18 percent
Sand content--10 to 90 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to slightly alkaline
Ab horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--2 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam, some pedons have thin strata of coarser materials
Clay content--10 to 30 percent
Sand content--10 to 20 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to slightly alkaline
Bgb horizon (when present):
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, 5GY, 5G, 5BG, or 5B or is neutral
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--stratified silt loam, silt, loam, very fine sandy loam, loamy very fine sand, or very fine sand
Clay content--5 to 18 percent
Sand content--10 to 90 percent
Rock fragment content--0 percent
Reaction--moderately acid to slightly alkaline
Cg horizon:
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, 5GY, 5G, 5BG, or 5B or is neutral
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--stratified silt loam, silt, loam, very fine sandy loam, loamy very fine sand, very fine sand, or sand
Clay content--5 to 18 percent
Sand content--10 to 95 percent
Rock fragment content--0 to 15 percent, gravel and channers
Reaction--moderately acid to slightly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--50 to 150 centimeters of recently deposited, stratified, alluvium overlying a buried soil
Landform--flood plains, drainageways and stream terraces
Slope--0 to 5 percent
Elevation--100 to 470 meters above sea level
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 14 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--685 to 1,220 millimeters
Frost-free period--135 to 230 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Arenzville,
Dorchester,
Huntsville, and
Lawson soils.
Arenzville--are on slightly higher landscape positions and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 1 meter during the wettest periods of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Dorchester--are on slightly higher landscape positions, have a clay content that averages 18 to 24 percent in the particle-size control section, have carbonates in all parts between depths of 25 to 50 centimeters and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 1 meter during the wettest periods of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
Huntsville--are on slightly higher landscape positions on floodplains and have a mollic epipedon 60 to 145 centimeters thick
Lawson--are in landscape positions similar to those of Orion soils, have a mollic epipedon 60 to 90 centimeters thick, and have a frequently saturated zone at a depth of 0.3 meter during the wettest periods of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--somewhat poorly drained--a frequently saturated zone occurs between depths of 0.3 to 0.75 meter during October to June in years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation and this saturation is considered apparent
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--1.00 to 10.00 micrometers per second
Flooding--rarely flooded to frequently flooded for very brief to brief periods during the months of February to November from precipitation events and snowmelt
USE AND VEGETATION:
Most areas are cultivated or pastured. Common crops are corn, small grain, and hay. Some areas are in woodland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland
Physiographic sections--Eastern lake section, Western lake section, Wisconsin driftless section, Till plains and Dissected till plains
MLRAs--Wisconsin Central Sands (89),
Wisconsin and Minnesota Thin Loess and Till, Southern Part (90B),
Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois Drift Plain (95B),
Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Till Prairies (104),
Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills (105),
Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift, East-Central Part (108B),
Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift, West-Central Part (108C),
Central Claypan Areas (113),
Southern Illinois and Indiana Thin Loess and Till Plain, Western Part (114B),
Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes, Western Part (115B), and
Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes, Northern Part (115C)
LRRs K and M; west-central and southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northwestern and western Illinois, northeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri
Extent--large
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Richland County, Wisconsin, 1956.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone from a depth of 25 to 100 centimeters (C and Ab horizons);
series control section--the zone from the surface to a depth of 150 centimeters (Ap, C, Ab and Cg horizons).
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 20 centimeters (Ap horizon);
udic moisture regime.
Cation-exchange class is inferred from lab data for similar soils in the surrounding area.
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006.