LOCATION RAGSDALE IN+OH

Established Series
Rev. WDH-GAW-TJE
04/2013

RAGSDALE SERIES

The Ragsdale series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils that formed in loess. The Ragsdale soils are on terraces and uplands. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 965 mm (38 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 12 degrees C (54 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiaquolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Ragsdale silt loam, on a concave, nearly level slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 166 meters (545 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.

A--23 to 38 cm (9 to 15 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; few fine faint brown (10YR 5/3) masses of iron accumulation; slightly acid; gradual irregular boundary. [Combined thickness of the A horizon is 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches).]

Btg--38 to 86 cm (15 to 34 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silty clay loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organo-clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; common medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; neutral; gradual irregular boundary.

Bt--86 to 112 cm (34 to 44 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) clay films on faces of peds and in cracks; many medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Btg and Bt horizons is 64 to 102 cm (25 to 40 inches).]

C--112 to 178 cm (44 to 70 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) silt loam; massive; friable; few distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) iron depleted streaks and splotches; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Sullivan County, Indiana; about 1 mile west of Shelburn; 1,170 feet west and 50 feet south of the northwest corner of sec. 33, T. 9 N., R. 9 W.; USGS Shelburn, Indiana topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 11 minutes 10 seconds N. and long. 87 degrees 25 minutes 23 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 463460 easting and 4337518 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Thickness of the loess: more than 152 cm (60 inches)
Thickness of the mollic epipedon: 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches) and includes the upper part of the argillic horizon in some pedons
Depth to carbonates: more than 102 cm (40 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages between 25 and 33 percent clay
Series control section: averages less than 15 percent sand and less than 1 percent rock fragments

Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral

Btg or Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 3 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Reaction: slightly acid or neutral

Some pedons have a BC or BCg horizon.

C or Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 6
Clay content: 10 to 20 percent
Texture: silt loam
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cald, Cyclone, Gabriel, Luray, Mahalaland, Mahalasville, and Treaty series. Cald and Gabriel soils have a mollic epipedon that is more than 51 cm (20 inches) in thickness. Cyclone, Mahalasville, and Treaty soils average more than 15 percent sand in the lower part of the series control section. Luray soils have subhorizons or strata with sand content greater than 15 percent in the lower part of the series control section. Mahalaland soils have more than 1 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Ragsdale soils are in depressions, swales, and drainageways on terraces and uplands. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. The soils formed in more than 152 cm (60 inches) of loess. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 914 to 1016 mm (36 to 40 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 10 to 13 degrees C (50 to 55 degrees F).

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alford, Birkbeck, Fincastle, Iona, Iva, Muren, and Reesville soils. All these soils have an ochric epipedon and are on higher topographic positions. Ragsdale soils are in a drainage sequence with the well drained Alford soils, the moderately well drained Muren soils, and the somewhat poorly drained Iva soils.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. The depth to the top of an intermittent apparent high water table ranges from 15 cm (0.5 foot) above the surface to 15 cm (0.5 foot) below the surface during the winter and spring in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cropped to corn, soybeans, and wheat. Native vegetation is swamp grasses, reeds, sedges, and deciduous swamp forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central, southern, and southwestern Indiana; and southwestern Ohio. MLRAs 111A, 111D, 114A, 114B, and 115A. The type location is in 115A. The series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Knox County, Indiana, 1934.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 38 cm (Ap, A horizons).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 38 to 112 cm (Btg, Bt horizons).
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features in all horizons below a depth of 23 cm.

A representative NASIS data mapunit in MLRA 111 is DMU ID 153115 in MO 11.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data for Ragsdale series is available from the Purdue University and from the National Soil Survey Laboratory.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.