LOCATION VELVET MIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, frigid Oxyaquic
Fragiorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Velvet very stony loamy sand on a 4 percent slope under northern hardwoods and conifers. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa--2 to 0 inches; black (10YR 2/1) well decomposed leaf litter; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; about 10 percent cobbles and 25 percent stones; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
E--0 to 3 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very stony loamy sand; single grain; loose; common fine roots; about 25 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles and 20 percent stones; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bs1--3 to 13 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) very stony loamy sand; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine roots; about 25 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 20 percent stones; medium acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)
Bs2--13 to 16 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) very cobbly loamy sand; single grain; loose; few fine and coarse roots; few fine chunks of weakly cemented ortstein; about 25 percent gravel, 25 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; medium acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
2(E/B)x--16 to 41 inches; about 80 percent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly loamy sand (E); surrounding peds of reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) gravelly fine sandy loam (B); common coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) mottles; strong medium platy structure; very firm; many fine and very fine vesicular pores; few faint dark brown (10YR 4/3) clay films on horizontal faces of peds and in pores; about 20 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 43 inches thick)
2C--41 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly fine sandy loam; massive; friable; about 10 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Chippewa County, Michigan; about 1/4 mile north of Masta Bay on the north shore of Sugar Island; 1,800 feet north and 780 feet west of the southeast corner, sec. 36, T. 48 N., R. 1 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness ranges from 20 to greater than 60 inches. Depth to the fragipan ranges from 15 to 25 inches. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral in the solum. Gravel content ranges from 15 to 35 percent in the solum and cobble and stone content ranges from 10 to 50 percent. Gravel content in the 2C horizon ranges from 10 to 25 percent, and cobble and stone content ranges from 5 to 30 percent.
Some pedons have a 2 to 5 inch A horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. The A and E horizons are gravelly, cobbly, stony, very gravelly, very cobbly, or very stony analogues of loamy sand, sand, or loamy fine sand.
The Bs1 horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is a gravelly, cobbly, stony, very gravelly, very cobbly, or very stony analogues of loamy sand or loamy fine sand.
The Bs2 horizon has hue of 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 5 or 6. It has textures similar to that of the Bs1.
The E part of the (E/B)x horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. The B part of the (E/B)x horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. The (E/B)x horizon is gravelly, cobbly, very gravelly, or very cobbly analogues of loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam. Some pedons have Ex horizons. The fragipan horizons are very hard or extremely hard when dry and very firm to extremely firm when moist.
The 2C horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 5 or 6 and chroma of 3 to 6. It is a gravelly, very gravelly, cobbly, or very cobbly analogues of fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. It is slightly acid or neutral in reaction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Similar soils are the Champion and Yalmer series. Champion soils are coarse-loamy and are more acid in the solum and substratum. Yalmer soils have fewer rock fragments throughout the pedon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Velvet soils are on knolls, ridges, and side slopes of ground and end moraines. Slope gradients range from 0 to 35 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 25 to 37 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 38 to 42 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ermatinger, Ontonagon, Pickford, and Rudyard soils. The poorly drained Ermatinger and Pickford soils are in nearby depressions and drainageways. The well drained clayey Ontonagon soils are on similar landscape positions. The somewhat poorly drained Rudyard soils are in slightly lower landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained and well drained. Surface runoff is slow. Permeability is rapid in the sandy upper part, very slow in the fragipan, and moderate below the fragipan.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are forested with northern hardwoods, quaking aspen, and balsam fir being the dominant trees. Some areas are used for pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Chippewa County, Michigan, 1989.
REMARKS: Classification changed to agree with ST Issue #17 on 2 Sept. 94 by CLG. Diagnostic horizons and properties recognized in this pedon are: albic horizon - the zone from the surface to 3 inches (E horizon); spodic horizon - the zone from 3 to 16 inches (Bs1 and Bs2 horizons); fragipan - the zone from 16 to 41 inches (2(E/B)x horizon).