LOCATION SHOALS IN+IL MI OH

Established Series
Rev. TRZ-MLW-TJE
11/2021

SHOALS SERIES

The Shoals series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils that formed in alluvium on flood plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1067 mm (42 inches), and mean annual temperature is about 11 degrees C (52 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Fluventic Endoaquepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Shoals loam, on a 1 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 284 meters (930 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 20 cm (0 to 8 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. [15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) thick]

AB--20 to 33 cm (8 to 13 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable; common fine roots; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; common medium faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly alkaline; clear smooth boundary. [0 to 25 cm (10 inches) thick]

Bw--33 to 51 cm (13 to 20 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; many medium faint dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) iron depletions in the matrix; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

Bg--51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bw and Bg horizons is 36 to 127 cm (14 to 50 inches).]

Cg1--76 to 109 cm (30 to 43 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam; massive; friable; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; common medium faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) iron depletions in the matrix; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.

Cg2--109 to 124 cm (43 to 49 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) stratified loam, fine sandy loam, and loamy sand; massive; friable; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; common medium faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary.

Cg3--124 to 152 cm (49 to 60 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) stratified silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, and loamy sand; massive; friable; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of oxidized iron in the matrix; many medium faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) iron depletions in the matrix; 5 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Henry County, Indiana; about 1 1/4 mile south of Greensboro; 1,320 feet west and 660 feet south of the northeast corner of sec. 12, T. 16 N., R. 9 E.; USGS Dunreith, IN topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 51 minutes 33 seconds N. and 85 degrees 28 minutes 15 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 630802 easting and 4413251 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the cambic horizon: 51 to 152 cm (20 to 60 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 18 to 34 percent clay

Ap or A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5; 3 is allowed in thin A horizons
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 3 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to slightly alkaline

AB, Bw, or Bg horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: loam or silt loam, or less commonly fine sandy loam, sandy loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 3 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline but may be slightly acid in the upper subhorizons of some pedons

Cg or C horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: commonly stratified and includes clay loam, loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam, with thin strata of loamy sand or sand
Rock fragment content: 0 to 14 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Soils in similar families are the Bowmansville, Orrville, and Washtenaw series. Bowmansville, and Orrville soils have an active cation-exchange activity class. Bowmansville soils have hue redder than 10YR in the upper part of the series control section. Orrville soils are more acid than neutral in the middle part of the series control section. Washtenaw soils are Aeric Fluvaquents and have a buried soil within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Shoals soils are on flood plains receiving sediments from areas influenced by Wisconsinan or Illinoian glaciation. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. The soils formed in loamy alluvium. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 813 to 1168 mm (32 to 46 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8 to 13 degrees C (47 to 55 degrees F). Frost-free period is 140 to 210 days. Elevation is 104 to 305 meters (340 to 1,000 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Eel, Genesee, Gessie, and Sloan soils. The moderately well drained Eel soils and the well drained Genesee and Gessie soils are on higher flood-plain steps. The very poorly drained Sloan soils are in depressions and on lower flood-plain steps.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 15 to 61 cm (0.5 to 2.0 feet) during the winter and spring in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is negligible or very low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high. Permeability is moderate in the solum and moderate or moderately rapid in the substratum. These soils are subject to rare to frequent flooding.

USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly used to grow corn and soybeans. Some areas are used for forest or pasture. Native vegetation is hardwood forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 97, 98, 99, 111A, 111B, 111C, 111D, 111E, 113, 114A, 114B, and 115A in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The type location is in MLRA 111A. The series is of large extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Martin County, Indiana, 1936.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 20 cm (Ap horizon).
Cambic horizon: from a depth of 20 to 76 cm (AB, Bw, and Bg horizons).
Aquic conditions: redox features in all horizons below a depth of 20 cm.

This pedon has an irregular decrease in organic carbon.

Sandy substratum, gravelly substratum, and till substratum phases are recognized, and may become new series when subsets soil surveys with these phases are updated.

09/2014 Revision: removed subgroup description in RIC since colors are required for taxonomic classification; changed pscs range to include 34 percent clay; slightly acid reation added to range in upper part of series control section; updated characterization data available.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data is available for the typical pedon, S1980IN065005, from the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (KSSL), Lincoln, Nebraska. Data for other pedons sampled by the Agricultural Experiment Station at Purdue University and at The Ohio State University are also available from KSSL.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.