LOCATION VALTON WI+IA MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Mollic Paleudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Valton silt loam - on a 11 percent convex slope in alfalfa at an elevation of about 1325 feet. (Colors are for soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular and moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine and very fine roots; some areas of dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) subsoil material; about 2 percent chert fragments by volume; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--9 to 14 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure with some moderate fine angular blocky and moderate coarse platy; friable about 2 percent chert fragments by volume; faint continuous brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common very fine roots; few thin light gray (10YR 7/2) clean silt coatings on vertical faces of peds; common very fine and few fine pores; few worm casts and worm channels; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--14 to 22 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure with some angular blocky; firm; about 2 percent chert fragments by volume; faint continious brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common very fine roots; thin light gray (10YR 7/2) clean silt coatings on vertical faces on peds; common very fine root pores; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the B2t horizon ranges from 9 to 27 inches.)
2Bt3--22 to 32 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) silty clay; moderate medium and coarse prismatic structure parting to strong medium and coarse angular blocky; extremely firm; about 5 percent chert fragments by volume with slight evidence of stone line; faint continuous yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay films and thin patchy black (N 2/0) Fe-Mn segregations on top, bottom, and vertical faces of peds; common very fine roots mainly on surface of peds; few light gray (10YR 7/2) clean silt coatings on vertical faces of peds; common very fine and few fine pores; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bt4--32 to 44 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to strong medium and coarse angular blocky; extremely firm; about 6 percent chert fragments by volume; faint continuous yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay films and common thin patchy black (N 2/0) Fe-Mn segregations on top, vertical, and bottom faces of peds; a few peds have interior color of yellowish red (5YR 5/6); few very fine roots mainly between faces of peds; few very fine pores; a few peds with light gray (10YR 7/2) coatings mainly on vertical faces of peds, but some on tops of peds; slickensides are common between larger peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bt3 and 2Bt4 horizons ranges from 20 to 40 inches.)
2Bt5--44 to 55 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to strong coarse angular blocky; extremely firm; about 6 percent chert fragments by volume; faint continuous yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay films and common thin patchy black (N 2/0) Fe-Mn segregations on top, vertical, and bottom faces of few very fine roots mainly between faces of peds; some light gray (10YR 7/2) coatings mainly on vertical faces of peds; few very fine pores; slickensides are common between the larger peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Bt6--55 to 60 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; extremely firm; about 5 percent chert fragments by volume; faint continuous yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay films and thin patchy black (N 2/0) Fe-Mn segregations mainly on vertical faces of peds, but a few on top of faces; one pocket of light gray (10YR 7/2) clean silt accumulation; additional color of strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) with the matrix color of yellowish red (5YR 4/6) gives "marbling" effect; few very fine roots mainly between faces of peds; few very fine pores; very strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the 2Bt5 and 2Bt6 horizons ranges from 0 to 30 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Monroe County, Wisconsin; about 2 1/2 miles northeast of Norwalk; 540 feet south and 150 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 15, T. 16 N., R. 2 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum and the depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Thickness of the loess is 15 to 40 inches. Volume of chert fragments in the loess ranges from 0 to 15 percent and from 0 to 35 percent in the clay residuum. Volume of chert fragments larger than 3 inches in size ranges from 0 to 15 percent throughout the pedon. The solum is leached of free carbonates to a depth greater than 60 inches. The solum in the upper part (loess) is strongly acid to neutral and in the lower part (residuum) is very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Ap or A horizon has 10YR hue, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 through 3.
Where present, the A horizon is 3 to 5 inches thick. Where present, the E horizon has 10YR hue, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3.
The Bt horizon has 10YR or 7.5YR hue, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silt loam or silty clay loam.
The 2Bt horizon typically has 5YR hue, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 8. Less commonly it has hue of 2.5YR and value of 3 through 7. Some pedons have layers in the 2B with hue of 10YR. In some pedons individual subhorizons in the residuum have variegated colors that include pockets or discontinuous lenses with chroma of 2. These low chroma colors reflect the color of the parent material from which they weathered. Some pedons have high chroma mottles in the subsoil and some pedons have low chroma mottles below a depth of 36 inches due to wetness. The 2Bt horizon is clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, clay, or the channery or flaggy analogues. Clay content ranges from 35 to 75 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: The only other soil in this family is the Pembroke series. Pembroke soils do not have a distinct loess mantle and typically have redder hues in the upper part of the solum. Similar soils in other families are Baylis, NewGlarus, Norwalk, Palsgrove, Southridge, and Wildale series. Baylis soils do not have a dark colored surface and contain more chert fragments in the lower part of the sola. NewGlarus and Norwalk soils are underlain by dolomite at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Palsgrove soils have a thicker loess mantle and are underlain by dolomite at a depth of 40 to 60 inches. Southridge soils are similar but have a lighter colored surface and have contrasting textures. Wildale soils have a thinner loess mantle overlying the clayey residuum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Valton soils are on ridgetops and side slopes (shoulder and back slopes) in dissected uplands underlain by thick clayey residuum over limestone. Slope gradients commonly are 2 to 20 percent but ranges from 1 to 45 percent. These soils formed in 15 to 40 inches of loess and in the underlying clayey residuum weathered from limestone. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 49 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 32 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the NewGlarus, Norwalk, Palsgrove, and Wildale soils. All of these soils are in similar landscape positions, but their differences, which lie below the surface, are not apparent in the landscape, except that the Valton soils occur commonly on broad, high interfluves or divides.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is medium, very slow or rapid. Permeability is moderate in the upper part of the solum (loess) and very slow and slow in the lower part of the solum (residuum).
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are mainly under cultivation with corn, small grains, and legumes the principal crops. Steeper slopes are used for pasture or maintained in woodland. Native vegetation was deciduous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. These soils are moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sauk County, Wisconsin, 1977.
REMARKS: Valton soils were at one time included with the NewGlarus soils. Prior to the establishment of the NewGlarus soils they were included with the Dubuque soils. Refer to National Soil Survey Laboratory numbers 77P218-77P2186 for data on the typical pedon.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 9 inches (Ap horizon); argillic horizon - zone from 9 to 60 inches (Bt1, Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, 2Bt5, and 2Bt6 horizons); clay distribution that does not decrease from its maximum amount by as much as 20 percent of that maximum within a depth of 1.5 m from the soil surface, hue redder than 10YR and chroma more than 4 dominant in the matrix of at least the lower part of the argillic horizon; udic moisture regime; mesic temperature regime.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Taxonomic placement of Valton pedons hinges on the texture of the upper part of the residuum. The amount of clay will vary because of the amount of erosion that had occurred on the surface prior to loess deposition. Some pedons can be placed in fine-silty over clayey and some in fine-silty. The use and management, however, is the same.