LOCATION STUNTZ MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Aeric Glossaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Stuntz very fine sandy loam with a plane 1 percent slope on a till plain under mixed hardwood forest. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
O--0 to 1 inch; black (5YR 2/1) forest litter derived from leaves, twigs and roots; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
A--1 to 2 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak very fine granular structure; very friable; many roots; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E1--2 to 6 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very fine sandy loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) dry; weak very thin platy structure; very friable; many roots; common very fine vesicular pores; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
E2--6 to 11 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) very fine sandy loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) dry; moderate thin and medium platy structure; very friable; many roots; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; common very fine vesicular pores; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of E horizons is 6 to 16 inches.)
E/B--11 to 18 inches; about 70 percent grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very fine sandy loam (E); tongues into and surrounds about 30 percent olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) sandy clay loam (Bt); moderate medium blocky structure; E part is friable;firm; common prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; many roots; common very fine vesicular pores (E); about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.
B/E--18 to 23 inches; about 70 percent olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) sandy clay loam (Bt); moderate medium and coarse angular blocky structure; firm; with tongues and interfingers (about 30 percent) of grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very fine sandy loam (E); massive; friable; few roots; common very fine vesicular pores (E); common faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay films and silt coatings on faces of peds (Bt); few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 5 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of E/B or B/E is 3 to 15 inches.)
Btg1--23 to 28 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) sandy clay loam; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm; few roots; few pores; many distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) Fe concentrations; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Btg2--28 to 35 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay loam; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure that parts to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; few roots; few pores; many faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few prominent black (5Y 2/1) organic coatings on faces of peds; common fine prominent yellowish red (5Y 4/6) Fe concentrations; about 5 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
Btg3--35 to 40 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure that parts to weak coarse subangular blocky; firm; few roots; few pores; many faint grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few prominent black (5YR 2/1) organic coatings on faces of peds; few fine prominent yellowish red (5Y 4/6) Fe concentrations; about 5 percent gravel; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Bt horizon is 12 to 26 inches.)
C--40 to 60 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; massive; friable; few roots; about 5 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Cass County, Minnesota; Pike Bay Experimental Forest, about 3.7 miles south and 4 miles east of the village of Cass Lake; about 870 feet north and 1,920 feet east of the southwest corner, sec. 32, T. 145 N., R. 30 W.; USGS Quadrangle: Pike Bay, Minn.; Latitude 47 degrees 19 minutes 33 seconds N. and Longitude 94 degrees 30 minutes 54 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Free carbonates begin at depths between 30 and 60 inches. The till has 2 to 12 percent by volume of rock fragments of mixed lithology, but typically high in gray, soft flat shale and 0 to 2 percent cobblestones. The A and E horizons have 0 to 5 percent by volume of rock fragments.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1, or is neutral with value of 2. The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 3. The A and E horizons are very fine sandy loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam or loam. They are very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The glossic horizon has an E/B or B/E or both. The Bt and E parts each occupy 15 percent or more. Colors and textures are similar to the E and Bt horizons respectively.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and dominant chroma of 3 or 4. It has clay films or coatings with chroma of 2 on faces of peds. It is clay loam, sandy clay loam or loam with clay content ranging from 20 to 35 percent. The sand content ranges from 25 to 45 percent. It is strongly acid to slightly alkaline. The bulk density ranges from 1.5 to 1.7 gm/cc.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4 with bright colored Fe concentrations in many pedons. It is loam, sandy clay loam or clay loam. It is neutral to moderately alkaline. Most pedons have calcium carbonate equivalent of 5 to 15 percent. The bulk density ranges from 1.5 to 1.7 gm/cc. The sand content ranges from 25 to 45 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the in Dusler, Freer, and Keewatin series. The Dusler soils have B and C horizons with hue of 5YR or 2.5YR. Freer soils formed in a silty mantle and dense glacial till which has bulk density greater than 1.8 gm/cc. The Keewatin soils have a argillic horizon lower and the one-third of the series control section which has more than 45 percent sand.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Stuntz soils have plane and slightly concave or very slightly convex 0 to 3 percent slopes on nearly level and gently undulating parts of ground moraines. They formed in calcareous loamy till of late Wisconsinan glaciation. Mean annual air temperature is 36 to 42 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is 22 to 30 inches. Frost-free days range from 88 to 135. Elevation above sea level ranges from 1000 to 1600 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The well drained Warba soils and the very poorly drained Talmoon soils are hydrosequence associates. Warba soils are high in the landscape and Talmoon soils are in the depressions. Cathro, Greenwood, Lupton, Mooselake, and Seelyeville are organic soils in adjacent depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Moderately slow permeability. Runoff is low. An apparent seasonal high water table is as high as 1.5 to 3 feet at some time from March to June in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is forested. Main trees are aspen, balsam fir, basswood, paper birch, sugar maple and white spruce.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Central Minnesota. Moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Itasca County, Minnesota, 1982.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil are: Ochric epipedon - the zone from the mineral soil surface to a depth of 11 inches (A, E, E2 horizons); algic horizon - the zone from 2 to 11 inch depth (E1, E2 horizons); glossic horizon - the zone from 11 to 23 inches (E/B and B/E horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from 18 to 40 inches (B/E, Btg1, Btg2, and Btg3 horizons); aquic moisture regime - based on water table and capillary saturation to the surface; aeric subgroup - based on chroma greater than 2 in more than 40 percent of matrix in one or more subhorizons between A horizon and 30 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MAES Central File Code No. 993 for results of laboratory analyses of the typical pedon. Soil Interpretation Record number is MN0141.