LOCATION SKUNKCREEK MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Typic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Skunkcreek loam, on a linear flat of 1 percent slope, on a glacial lake plain in a cultivated field, at an elevation of about 400 meters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 18 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine, medium and coarse roots; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (18 to 25 centimeters thick)
Bg1--18 to 46 centimeters; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) stratified loam and silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine and common medium roots; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bg2--46 to 102 centimeters; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) stratified very fine sandy loam and loamy very fine sand; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and few medium roots; common medium faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) redoximporphic concentrations; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 50 to 100 centimeters)
Cg1--102 to 127 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) stratified fine sandy loam and very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Cg2--127 to 140 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) stratified sand and loamy sand; massive; very friable; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
Cg3--140 to 203 centimeters; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) stratified very fine sandy loam and loam; massive; friable; many medium distinct light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) redoximorphic concentrations; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 88-Northern Minnesota Glacial Lake Basins; St. Louis County, Minnesota; about 4 miles southwest of Meadowlands; located about 100 feet west and 1,500 feet south of the northeast corner of section 25, T. 53 N., R. 20 W.; USGS Elmer topographic quadrangle; latitude 47 degrees 3 minutes 1 second N., and longitude 92 degrees 48 minutes 23 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to carbonates--100 to 127 centimeters
These soils do not have rock fragments
Ap or A horizon:
Hue--10YR
Value--2 or 3, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 or 2, 2 or 3 dry
Texture--loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam
Reaction--moderately acid to neutral
Bg horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture-stratified loam, sandy loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sand, coarse sand, fine sand, or loamy very fine sand
Reaction--slightly acid to neutral
Some pedons have a Bw horizon
Cg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y
Value--5 or 6
Chroma--2 or 3
Texture-stratified loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sand, coarse sand, fine sand, or loamy very fine sand
The fine sand content on a weighted average is more than 30 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Reaction--neutral to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Delamere,
Forada,
Meadowlands,
Runeberg, and
Tiffany series.
Delamere and Tiffany--the fine sand content on a weighted average is more than 30 percent in the lower third of the series control section and depth to carbonates is 50 centimeters or less
Meadowlands--the fine sand content on a weighted average is less than 30 percent in the lower third of the series control section
Forada--sand and loamy sand textures and gravelly horizons with up to 35 percent gravel in the lower third of the series control section
Runeberg--formed in till and contain between 3 to 15 percent rock fragments within the series control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent Material-stratified glaciolacustrine deposits
Landform-flats on glacial lake plains
Slope-0 to 2 percent
Mean annual air temperature-3 to 5 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--635 to 711
Frost free period--95 to 125 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These soils are the
Louis and
Kapla soils which formed in the same parent material a Skunkcreek soils. Louis and Kapla soils form a hydrosequence with the Skunkcreek soils.
Louis soils--are on more sloping and higher lying positions on the landscape
Kapla soils--are in drainageways and depressions
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--poorly drained--these soils have a frequently saturated zone within a depth of 0.15 meter below the surface during the wettest periods of years when precipitation is within one standard deviation of the 30 year mean of annual precipitation, this saturation is considered apparent
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--average is 9.17 micrometers per second, but some layers can be as high as 423.30 micrometers per second
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas for cropped for hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Physiographic Division--Interior Plains or Laurentian Upland
Physiographic Province--Central Lowland Province or Superior Upland
MLRA--Northern Minnesota Glacial Lake Basins (88)
LRR--K; northern Minnesota
Extent--small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota; MLRA SSO 10-4 (Duluth, Minnesota)
SERIES ESTABLISHED: St. Louis County, 2009. The source of the name is a creek in St. Louis County.
REMARKS:
Particle-size control section--the zone 25 to 100 centimeters
Series control section--the zone from the surface of the soils to a depth of 150 centimeters
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon--the zone from the surface to a depth of 18 centimeters
Cambic horizon--the zone from 18 to 102 centimeters
Aquic moisture regime
Taxonomy version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, tenth edition, 2006