LOCATION STAMBAUGH MI+WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, frigid Alfic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Stambaugh silt loam - forested. (Colors are for moist conditions unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 4 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine to coarse roots; about 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bs1--4 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; about 1 percent gravel; common very dark gray (10YR 3/1) worm casts; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--10 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; very few very dark gray (10YR 3/1) worm casts in upper 3 inches; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 10 to 24 inches thick.)
E--18 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very fine sandy loam; very weak medium platy structure; firm in place, friable disturbed; few fine roots; very thin coatings of light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very fine sand between plates; common very fine discontinuous pores; moderately acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
B/E--22 to 39 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silt loam (Bt); common fine pores; few clay films mainly in pores; few coatings of very fine sand along primary peds; comprising about 70 percent of the horizon surrounded by brown (7.5YR 5/4) silt loam (E); common fine faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) mottles; very weak thick platy structure, parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; about 2 percent gravel, moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 20 inches thick)
2C1--39 to 50 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very gravelly sand; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; about 35 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
2C2--50 to 60 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) gravelly sand; single grain; loose; about 30 percent gravel and cobbles; moderately acid.,
TYPE LOCATION: Iron County, Michigan, about 6 miles west of the village of Alpha; 1050 feet north of junction of County Rd. 424 and 639; 66 feet west of County Rd. 639 in the northwest 1/4, sec. 13, T. 42 N., R. 34 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness and depth to sandy material ranges from 24 to 40 inches. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the solum, and from 25 to 60 percent in the substratum. The content of cobbles ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the solum and from 0 to 10 percent in the substratum. Stones covering the surface range from less than 0.01 to 0.1 percent.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1. Cultivated areas have Ap horizons with hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 or 3. The A or Ap horizons are silt loam or very fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
Some pedons have E horizons below the A horizon, with hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or very fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid. In cultivated areas the upper 4 to 8 inches of the E horizon is mixed into the Ap horizon.
Some pedons have Bhs horizons with hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, and value and chroma of 3. They are silt loam or very fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The Bs1 horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 4. The Bs2 horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. The Bs horizons are silt loam or very fine sandy loam. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 to 4. This horizon is firm in place but does not have characteristics of a fragipan.
The E portion of the E/B or B/E horizon has characteristics the same as the E horizon.
The B portion of the E/B or B/E horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 4. The solum is less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser and less than 18 percent clay.
The 2C horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 to 6. It is gravelly sand or very gravelly sand. Thin layers of coarse sand or sand are in some pedons. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Similar or related soils include the Amasa, Bohemian, Champion, Fence, Goodman, Newaygo, Oconto, Pence, Padus, and Wabeno series. Amasa and Pence soils do not have argillic horizons. Bohemian and Fence soils have silty material below 40 inches. Champion, Goodman and Wabeno soils are underlain by glacial till containing more than 12 percent clay and less than 70 percent sand and contain more than 15 percent fine sand or coarser in the solum. In addition, Champion and Wabeno soils have fragipans. Newaygo soils are underlain by calcareous gravelly sand. Oconto soils do not have spodic horizons and have solums which contain more than 15 percent fine sand or coarser. Padus soils contain more than 15 percent fine sand or coarser in the solum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Stambaugh soils are on outwash plains and stream terraces. Slope gradients range from 0 to 25 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 26 to 33 inches, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 41 to 44 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the well drained Amasa, Fence, Padus and Pence soils, which occupy similar landscapes as Stambaugh soils, and the well drained or moderately well drained Goodman and Wabeno soils which occupy positions on nearby moraines.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is slow to medium. Permeability is moderate to moderately slow in the solum and rapid in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Primarily forests of second growth sugar maple, yellow birch, American basswood, eastern hemlock, and eastern white pine. A considerable acreage is cleared and used for hay, oats, and potatoes.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Iron County, Michigan, 1927.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and properties recognized in this pedon are ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to 4 inches (A horizon); spodic horizon - the zone from 4 to 18 inches (Bs and Bs2 horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from 22 to 39 inches (B part of B/E horizon). The silty eolian mantle has been modified by windthrow action and post glacial erosion.
The moderately well drained phase of the series is no longer within the series concept.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soil Interpretation Record No.: MI0085; STONY PHASE - MI0640.