LOCATION TOWES MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, active, frigid Typic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Towes silt loam, on a 2 percent slope, in a forested area, at an elevation of 233 meters. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated. When described on August 21, 2002 the soil was moist throughout).
A1--0 to 23 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 25 centimeters thick)
A2--23 to 48 centimeters; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak coarse platy grading to weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable to firm; common very fine to medium roots; few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 25 centimeters thick)
2Bw--48 to 56 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sand; single grain; loose; about 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 30 centimeters thick)
2C--56 to 66 centimeters; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sand; single grain; loose; common fine prominent dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) iron and manganese concretions and nodules; about 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 30 centimeters thick)
3Cr--66 to 94 centimeters; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) weathered sandstone; massive; very firm; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 30 centimeters thick)
3R--94 centimeters; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Alger County, Michigan; about 150 feet south and 3000 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 14, T. 49 N., R. 14 W.; USGS Grand Sable Lake topographic quadrangle; lat. 46 degrees 38 minutes 59 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 01 minute 17 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: (Unless otherwise stated, depth ranges in this paragraph are measured from the top of the mineral surface to the designated depth.) Depth to paralithic contact ranges from 51 to 76 centimeters and depth to lithic contact ranges from 76 to 114 centimeters. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 25 percent and cobbles range from 0 to10 percent in the 2Bw and 2C horizons.
The A1 horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 2.5, and chroma of 1. It is silt loam. Reaction is strongly acid or moderately acid.
The A2 horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4, and chroma of 1. It is silt loam. Reaction is strongly acid to slightly acid.
The 2Bw horizon has hue of 10YR, value and chroma of 4. It is sand or gravelly sand. Reaction is moderately acid or slightly acid.
The 2C horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sand to very gravelly sand. Reaction is slightly acid or neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Rhody series. The Rhody series has wet soil moisture status that ranges from the surface to 15 centimeters below the surface during the period from October to June.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Towes soils are on risers and threads of eroded bedrock terraces within glacial drainage channels. Slope ranges from 0 to 4 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 860 millimeters and mean annual air temperature is about 5 degrees C. Elevation ranges from 228 to 274 meters.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Deerton, Garlic, Grand Sable, Lupton, Rhody, and Trout Bay soils. Deerton soils are moderately deep, well drained sandy soils, and are on knolls, ridges and on shoulders of bedrock benches. Garlic soils are very deep, well drained sandy soils on nearby uplands. Grand Sable soils are very deep, well drained, sandy soils that occur on surrounding uplands. Lupton soils are very deep, very poorly drained organic soils, occurring in nearby depressions and drainageways. Rhody soils are moderately deep, poorly drained soils and are in a drainage catena with Towes soils. Trout Bay soils are very poorly drained organic soils over bedrock, and are in nearby depressions and drainageways.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. The soil has wet soil moisture status that is perched above the sandstone bedrock from 15 to 61 centimeters below the surface during the period from October to June. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately and high in A horizons, high and very high in 2Bw and 2C horizons, and very low in the bedrock. Surface runoff is negligible.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are forested. Common trees are sugar maple, yellow birch, white birch, white cedar, and balsam fir. Common ground plants are shield fern, horsetail, long beech fern, yellow beadlily, trillium, lady fern, American fly honeysuckle, and twisted stalk.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota; MLRA SSO 10-8 (Marquette, Michigan).
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alger County, Michigan, 2007. Source of name is a creek in Alger County.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the pedon are:
mollic epipedon--0 to 48 centimeters;
lithic feature--hard sandstone bedrock at 94 centimeters.
Only series status, responsibility, and scrivener's errors changed - 4/09.