LOCATION RIPON WI+IA IL MN
Established Series
Rev. HFG-AAC
01/2011
RIPON SERIES
The Ripon series consists of well-drained soils which are moderately deep to a lithic contact with limestone. They formed in a mantle of loess and in the underlying till which is underlain in turn by limestone on ground moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 737 mm (29 inches). Mean annual air temperature is about 8.9 degrees C (48 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Argiudolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Ripon silt loam - on a 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 318.5 meters (1,045 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); black (10YR 2/1) silt loam; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine and very fine granular structure; very friable; few fine fibrous roots; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--23 to 28 cm (9 to 11 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine and very fine granular structure; very friable; few fine fibrous roots; many very dark gray (10YR 3/1) and few yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) earthworm casts; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Ap and A horizons ranges from 25 to 33 cm (10 to 13 inches).]
Bt1--28 to 58 cm (11 to 23 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint thin clay films on faces of peds and in pores; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--58 to 81 cm (23 to 32 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint thin clay films on faces of peds and in pores; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizons ranges from 31 to 53 cm (12 to 21 inches).]
2Bt3--81 to 86 cm (32 to 34 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; faint thin continuous dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) clay films on faces of most peds and in pores; about 5 percent fine gravel of mixed origin ; moderately alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. [3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 inches) thick]
R--86 cm (34 inches); pale yellow (5Y 7/3) dolomitic limestone.
TYPE LOCATION: Green Lake County, Wisconsin; about 2 1/2 miles north of Markesan; 1,050 feet east and 600 feet north of the center of sec. 30, T. 15 N., R. 13 E. USGS Markesan Wis. Quad. Latitude ? 43 degrees 44 minutes 39 seconds N., Longitude ? 88 degrees 59 minutes 31 seconds W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the loess mantle: 51 to 91 cm (20 to 36 inches)
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon and depth to limestone: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 25 to 35 percent clay, less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser
Rock fragments: typically absent in the loess
Volume of gravel: 2 to 15 percent in the till
Volume of cobbles: 0 to 2 percent in the till
Reaction: naturally slightly acid to strongly acid in the upper part of the solum, neutral, where the soil is limed; slightly acid to moderately alkaline in the till subsoil
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: silt loam
Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: silt loam or silty clay loam
2Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 to 5
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: clay loam, sandy clay loam or loam
3R horizon:
Limestone bedrock that is typically dolomitic.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Ashdale,
Broadwell,
Dinsdale,
Douglas,
Elkhart,
Elmont,
Healing,
Lycurgus,
Malcolm,
Meadowbrook,
Mendota,
Mickle,
Ogle,
Osco,
Parkway,
Plano,
Proctor,
Richwood,
Sibley,
Sidell,
Tama,
Tecumseh,
Toddville,
Wakenda,
Waupecan, and
Wiota series. None of these soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Ripon soils typically are on ground moraines underlain by limestone. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. The soils formed in loess and the underlying loamy till which in turn overlies limestone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 711 to 787 mm (28 to 31 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7.8 to 10.6 degrees C (46 to 51 degrees F).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Channahon,
Dinsdale,
Knowles,
Mendota, and
Tama soils. Channahon soils are on nearby areas where depth to bedrock is less than 51 cm (20 inches). Where the loess is 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) thick over loamy till, the Dinsdale soils are nearby. Mendota soils are on areas next to Ripon soils where depth to limestone is greater than 152 cm (60 inches) and the solum formed in highly calcareous glacial till. In areas where the loess is thicker than 152 cm (60 inches) or no part of the sola formed in till, the Tama soils are nearby on similar slopes.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from negligible to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high (4.23 to 14.11 micrometers per second) and ranges from moderately high to high to moderately low to moderately high (0.42 to 14.11 micrometers per second) in the limestone. Permeability is moderate in the solum and ranges from moderate to slow in the limestone.
USE AND VEGETATION: many areas are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grain, and hay. Some areas are used for pastureland. Native vegetation is prairie grasses with a few bur oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 90B, 95B, 103, 104, 105, 108A, 108B in southeastern Wisconsin and parts of Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota. This series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Columbia County, Wisconsin, 1972.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - 0 to 11 inches (Ap, A) argillic horizon - 11 to 34 inches (Bt1, Bt2, 2Bt3).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.