LOCATION RHODY MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, active, frigid Typic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Rhody mucky silt loam, on a 1 percent slope, in a forested area, at an elevation of 251 meters. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated. When described on August 20, 2002 the soil was moist throughout).
A1--0 to 25 centimeters; black (7.5YR 2.5/1) mucky silt loam, dark gray (7.5YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 25 centimeters thick)
A/E--25 to 48 centimeters; very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) and pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) dry; weak coarse platy structure; firm; few very fine to medium roots; common fine prominent pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) iron depletions; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 25 centimeters thick)
2C1--48 to 64 centimeters; olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) sand; single grain; loose; common medium distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) iron depletions; about 2 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (15 to 25 centimeters thick)
2C2--64 to 91 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 4/2) gravelly sand; single grain; loose; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; about 20 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 30 centimeters thick)
3Cr--91 to 104 centimeters; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) weathered sandstone; massive; very firm; slightly alkaline; slightly effervescent; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 25 centimeters thick)
3R--104 centimeters; sandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Alger County, Michigan; about 150 feet south and 3000 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 14, T. 49 N., R. 14 W.; USGS Grand Sable Lake topographic quadrangle; lat. 46 degrees 39 minutes 00 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 01 minute 05 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: (Unless otherwise stated, depth ranges in this paragraph are measured from the top of the mineral surface to the designated depth.) Depth to paralithic contact ranges from 50 to 100 centimeters and depth to lithic contact ranges from 64 to 114 centimeters. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 25 in the 2C horizons. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral. Some pedons do not have a 3Cr horizon.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR, value of 2.5, and chroma of 1. It is mucky silt loam. Reaction is moderately acid or slightly acid.
The A/E horizon has hue of 2.5Y to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam. Reaction is moderately acid to neutral.
The 2C horizons have hue of 2.5Y, 5Y, 7.5YR, and 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. They are sand or gravelly sand. Reaction is neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Towes series. Towes soils have wet soil moisture status that is perched above the sandstone bedrock from 15 to 61 centimeters below the surface during the period from October to June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rhody soils are on threads of eroded bedrock terraces within glacial drainage channels. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 860 millimeters and mean annual air temperature is about 5 degrees C. Elevation ranges from 228 to 274 meters.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Deerton, Garlic, Grand Sable, Lupton, Towes, and Trout Bay soils. Deerton soils are moderately deep, well drained sandy soils, and are on knolls, ridges and on shoulders of bedrock benches. Garlic and Grand Sable soils are very deep, well drained sandy soils on nearby uplands. Lupton soils are very deep, very poorly drained organic soils, occurring in nearby depressions and drainageways. Towes soils are moderately deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that are in a drainage catena with Rhody soils. Trout Bay soils are very poorly drained organic soils over bedrock, and are in nearby depressions and drainageways.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. The depth to the perched wet soil moisture status ranges from the surface to 15 centimeters below the surface during the period from October to June. Depth of ponding is 15 centimeters during the months of March, April, May, October, and November. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderate high and high in A and A/E horizons and high and very high in 2C horizons. Surface runoff is negligible.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are forested. Common trees are red maple, yellow birch, striped maple, black ash white cedar, and balsam fir. Common ground plants are shield fern, horsetail, jewelweed, yellow beadlily, twinflower, sedges, lady fern, mosses, wild lily-of-the-valley, bunchberry, dewberry, naked miterwort, and twisted stalk.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota; MLRA SSO 10-8 (Marquette, Michigan).
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alger County, Michigan, 2007. Major Land Resource Area 94B. Source of name is a creek in Alger County.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the pedon are:
mollic epipedon--0 to 48 centimeters;
lithic feature--hard sandstone bedrock at 104 centimeters.
Only series status, responsibility, and scrivener's errors changed - 4/09.