LOCATION RAWSON IN+OH
Established Series
Rev. AR-RAR
11/2021
RAWSON SERIES
The Rawson series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in loamy sediments and till on till plains, outwash plains and lake plains. They are moderately deep or deep to dense till. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 914 mm (36 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 10.6 degrees C (51 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Rawson loam, on a 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 244 meters (800 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 25 cm (10 inches); dark brown (10YR 3/3) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak coarse granular structure; friable; common fine roots; 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]
Bt1--25 to 33 cm (10 to 13 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; many distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings on the faces of peds; 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--33 to 51 cm (13 to 20 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--51 to 71 cm (20 to 28 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 13 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt4--71 to 99 cm (28 to 39 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 25 to 86 cm (10 to 34 inches).]
2BCt--99 to 109 cm (39 to 43 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings on faces of peds; few medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 1 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 33 cm (13 inches) thick]
2Cd--109 to 152 cm (43 to 60 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam; massive; very firm; 2 percent gravel; common light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings along fractures; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: DeKalb County, Indiana; about 1 mile south of the town of Saint Joe; 500 feet east and 730 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 22, T. 33 N., R. 14 E. USGS Saint Joe, Ind. topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 17 minutes 59 seconds N. and long. 084 degrees 54 minutes 12.5 seconds W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 51 to 114 cm (20 to 45 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 51 to 114 cm (20 to 45 inches)
Thickness of the solum: 61 to 122 cm (24 to 48 inches)
Depth to densic contact: 61 to 122 cm (24 to 48 inches)
Rock fragments: glacial erratics, primarily of limestone, dolostone, and crystalline lithology
Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or silt loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Some pedons have an E or BE horizon.
Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam, loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam or their gravelly analogues
Clay content: averages 18 to 35 percent
Sand content: 40 to 60 percent
Rock fragment content: 0 to 30 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral
2BCt, 2Bt, or 2Btg horizon:
Thickness: combined thickness of the 2B horizons is 20 to 71 cm (8 to 28 inches)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma of 2 to 6
Texture: clay, silty clay, clay loam or silty clay loam
Clay content: averages 27 to 50 percent
Sand content: 10 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 20 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline
2Cd horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silty clay loam, clay loam, clay or silty clay
Clay content: averages 27 to 42 percent
Sand content: 15 to 30 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Moist bulk density: 1.70 to 1.90 g/cm3
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 17 to 30 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Adamstown,
Beech,
Blakeslee,
Cazenovia,
El Dara,
Funkstown,
Hilton,
Kidami,
Miami,
Mt. Zion,
Pevely,
Rainsville,
Richland,
Shawtown,
Summitville, and
Vaughnsville series. Adamstown and Kidami soils do not have a densic contact within the series control section. Beech, Blakeslee, El Dara, Funkstown, and Mt. Zion soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 122 cm (48 inches). Cazenovia and Richland soils have more than 10 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Hilton soils have less than 27 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Miami soils have less than 40 percent sand in the argillic horizon. Pevely soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Rainsville soils are deeper than 114 cm (45 inches) to the base of the argillic horizon. Shawtown soils average less than 27 percent clay in the lower part of the argillic horizon. Summitville soils have rock fragments of shale, sandstone, and siltstone lithology. Vaughnsville soils have hue yellower than 5YR in the upper part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rawson soils are on till plains, outwash plains, and lake plains of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Rawson soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loamy sediments and the underlying till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 686 to 1067 mm (27 to 42 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 7.2 to 12.8 degrees C (45 to 55 degrees F). Frost-free period is 140 to 180 days. Elevation is 213 to 305 meters (700 to 1000 feet) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Aurand,
Blount,
Glynwood,
Haskins,
Houcktown,
Hoytville,
Mermill,
Morley,
Muncie and
Pewamo soils. Haskins, Houckton, and Mermill soils are in a toposequence with the Rawson soils. The somewhat poorly drained Aurand, Blount and Haskins soils and the moderately well drained Houcktown soils are on less sloping or lower lying landform positions. The very poorly drained Pewamo and Mermill soils are in depressions. The very poorly drained Hoytville soils are on flats and in depressions. The moderately well drained Glynwood and Morley soils are on slightly higher or more sloping landform positions. The well drained Muncie soils are on higher lying positions.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Depth to the top of an intermittent perched high water table ranges from 61 to 107 cm (2.0 to 3.5 feet) between January and April in normal years. Potential for surface water runoff is low to very high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and moderately low or low in the underlying dense till. Permeability is moderate in the loamy sediments, moderately slow in the 2B horizons, and slow or very slow in the underlying dense till.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all areas are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, and hay are the principal crops. Some areas are used for tomatoes and sugar beets, and a few areas are used for pasture or remain in woods. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Primarily in MLRAs 111B and 111C in east-central and northeastern Indiana and west-central Ohio, and to a lesser extent in MLRA 99 in northwestern Ohio and in MLRA 139 in northeastern Ohio. The series is of moderate extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Allen County, Ohio, 1963.
REMARKS: The 5/2000 revision of the Rawson Series moved the type location to Indiana, at least temporarily. Future updates of the soil surveys in Indiana and Ohio may require it to be moved again. This revision also incorporated the concept of the Royerton Series into the range of the Rawson soils, thus the Royerton Series became inactive. Detailed analysis of the clay contents of the till members in which these soils have been formed indicated the two series could not be consistently separated.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 25 cm (10 inches) (Ap).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 25 to 109 cm (10 to 43 inches) (Bt, 2BCt).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab data for this pedon is from the Purdue University Lab No. S79IN33-3-(1-7).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.