LOCATION VENANGO OH+NJ NY PA
Established Series
Rev. AR-DRM-JRS
03/2016
VENANGO SERIES
The Venango series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils formed in low-lime Wisconsinan age till on till plains and moraines. It is shallow or moderately deep to a fragipan. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high above the fragipan and moderately low to low in the fragipan and in the substratum. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1065 mm (42 in), and the mean annual temperature is about 9 degrees C (48 degrees F).
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aeric Fragiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Venango silt loam, on a convex, 2 percent slope in mixed hardwoods (previously cultivated) at an elevation of about 1,025 ft above msl. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 in); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; about 2 percent rock fragments; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 25 cm [5 to 10 in] thick)
E--23 to 33 cm (9 to 13 in); pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few (less than 15 percent by volume) medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) clay depletions on faces of peds; few fine faint light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; about 2 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 cm [0 to 8 in] thick)
Bw1--33 to 43 cm (13 to 17 in); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt coats on faces of peds; common fine distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) areas of iron depletion in the matrix; common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; about 4 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bw2--43 to 53 cm (17 to 21 in); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; many faint pale brown (10YR 6/3) and many distinct light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt coats on faces of peds; few medium distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) areas of iron depletion in the matrix; few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; about 4 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw is 8 to 51 cm [3 to 20 in].)
Btx1--53 to 104 cm (21 to 41 in); olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak thick platy; very firm and brittle; few prominent gray (5Y 5/1) iron depleted clay films on vertical faces of peds; many distinct light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt coats and sand coats on faces of peds; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) rind along the outer edge of the prisms; common medium black (10YR 2/1) soft manganese oxide accumulations in the matrix; about 4 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Btx2--104 to 117 cm (41 to 46 in); olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure; very firm and brittle; few prominent gray (5Y 5/1) iron-depleted clay films on vertical faces of peds; common distinct light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt coats and sand coats on vertical faces of peds; about 4 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btx is 36 to 112 cm [14 to 44 in].)
C--117 to 203 cm (46 to 80 in); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) loam; massive; firm; few prominent gray (5Y 5/1) iron-depleted clay films in vertical cleavage in till; few fine black (10YR 2/1) soft manganese oxide accumulations in the matrix; about 10 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Ashtabula County, Ohio; about 2.4 miles southeast of Andover, in Andover Township, 2,225 ft north of the intersection of Pymatuning-Lake Road (County Road 274) and Marvin Road (Township Road 269), then 1,250 ft east. T. 9 N., R. 1 W.; USGS Andover, OH USGS topographic quadrangle; Latitude 41 degrees, 35 minutes, 3 seconds N. and Longitude 80 degrees, 32 minutes, 13 seconds W., NAD 1983.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 91 to 183 cm (36 to 72 in). Depth to the fragipan ranges from 36 to 71 cm (14 to 28 in). Depth to carbonates is variable within short distances, ranging from 91 cm (36 in) to greater than 203 cm (80 in). The particle size control section averages 18 to 30 percent clay. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 2 to 10 percent.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 or 4 (6 or more dry), and chroma of 2 or 3. Undisturbed pedons have A horizons 1 to 3 in thick that have hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is silt loam, loam or their gravelly or channery analogues. Structure is weak or moderate, fine to coarse, granular. Rock fragments range from 0 to 25 percent. Reaction is extremely acid to moderately acid. Areas that have been limed range to neutral.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is silt loam, loam or their gravelly or channery analogues. Structure is weak, fine or medium, subangular blocky or platy. Rock fragments range from 0 to 25 percent. Reaction is extremely acid to moderately acid.
The Bw or BE horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam or their gravelly or channery analogues. Structure is weak or moderate, fine to coarse, angular or subangular blocky. Rock fragments range from 2 to 25 percent. Reaction is extremely acid to moderately acid.
The Btx horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam or their gravelly or channery analogues. Structure is weak to strong, coarse or very coarse prismatic parting to weak or moderate, fine to coarse, subangular blocky, or weak, thin to thick, platy. Rock fragments range from 2 to 25 percent. Reaction is slightly acid to very strongly acid in the upper part and neutral to strongly acid in the lower part.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is loam, silt loam, or their gravelly or channery analogs. Structure is weak, coarse or very coarse, subangular blocky. Rock fragments range from 2 to 25 percent. Reaction is strongly acid to neutral.
The C or CB horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loam, silt loam or their gravelly or channery analogues. Rock fragments range from 2 to 25 percent. Reaction is neutral to moderately alkaline
.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Abbottstown,
Buckingham,
Gresham,
Portville, and
Ravenna series. Abbottstown have hues 5YR or redder in the B horizon. Buckingham soils have hues of 5YR or redder in the substratum. Gresham soils have a Bt above the fragipan. Portville soils formed in colluvium and reaction in the substratum ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid. Ravenna soils have a horizon above the fragipan that has clay films.
The
Platea series is a similar soil in a related family. Platea soils have a fine-silty particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Venango soils formed in Wisconsinan age till strongly influenced by acid siltstone, sandstone and shale, with a minor component of limestone and are on convex flats, slight rises, low summits, shoulders and backslopes on till plains and moraines. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 830 to 1320 mm (33 to 52 in) and mean annual temperature ranges from 6 to 11 degrees C. (42 to 50 degrees F.)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Alden,
Blakeslee,
Cambridge,
Chenango,
Chippewa,
Darien,
Frenchtown,
Gageville,
Manlius,
Mill,
Nassau,
Pierpont,
Platea and
Red Hook and
Wallpack soils on nearby landscapes. The Alden, Chippewa, Manlius, Nassau, and Wallpack soils are typically associated in the extreme southern portions of MLRA 144A. The very poorly drained Alden soils are in upland depressions and lack a fragipan. The moderately well drained Cambridge soils and the poorly drained Frenchtown and Mill soils are in a topo sequence with Venango soils. The well and somewhat excessively drained Chenango soils, moderately well drained Blakeslee soils and somewhat poorly drained Red Hook soils are on nearby outwash terraces. The poorly and very poorly drained Chippewa soils are in upland depressions. The moderately well drained Gageville and somewhat poorly drained Darien soils do not have a fragipan and are on similar nearby till plains. Moderately well drained Pierpont soils and somewhat poorly drained Platea soils are on similar nearby till plains with less sand and more silt. The Manlius and Nassau soils are better drained on nearby uplands and are 20 to 40 in and 10 to 20 in to bedrock, respectively. The well drained Wallpack soils are higher on the landscape and have less than 18 percent clay in the subsoil.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Somewhat poorly drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high above the fragipan and moderately low to low in the fragipan and in the substratum. Depth to the top of an intermittent perched seasonal high water table ranges from 15 to 30 cm (0.5 to 1.0 ft) from October to June in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: A large part of this soil is used for cropland. Other uses are pasture, hayland and woodland. Many areas of abandoned cropland are reverting to trees and brush. Crops include wheat, oats, timothy, clover, corn, buckwheat, birdsfoot trefoil, and some alfalfa and soybeans. Native vegetation was deciduous forest with beech, sugar maple, wild cherry, and red maple being the main species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania, central New York, and northern New Jersey. MLRA 101, 139, 140, 141 and 144A. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Crawford County, Pennsylvania, 1946.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Ochric epipedon - from a depth of 0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 in) (Ap horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - from a depth of 23 to 53 cm (9 to 21 in) (E, Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).
3. Fragipan - from a depth of 53 to 117 cm (21 to 46 in) (Btx1 and Btx2 horizons).
4. Aquic conditions- beginning at a depth of 23 cm (9 in).
The typifying pedon was revisited and described using current terminology during the modernization of the Soil Survey of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published 1973, and its location description was updated.
It is anticipated that soils mapped as Venango on slopes greater than 12 percent will be correlated as other series during future MLRA update activities. A future MLRA project has been established in NASIS to investigate and address this.
Future MLRA projects have also been established in NASIS to investigate the stoniness phases of Venango, and also to investigate the extent of the Venango series as it occurs outside of its primary area in MLRA 139.
The Venango silt loam, sandstone substratum phase mapped in the Soil Survey of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published 1973, was correlated as the Mitiwanga series during the modernization of that survey.
Referencing the 12th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy (2014), the Venango series meets criteria for the Alfisol order because it has a fragipan with clay films 1mm or more thick in some part. These thick clay films on prism faces were observed in an archived copy of the Venango OSD dated 6/11/73. Mention of clay films more than 1mm thick were also observed on prism faces in another archived copy of the Venango OSD dated 11/30/72. However, a quantitative reevaluation of lab data (AB-S11) does not confirm that the clay increase is sufficient to meet criteria of an argillic horizon in the fragipan.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for the Venango series can be found at the NCSS Soil Characterization Database.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.