LOCATION WILLIAMSTOWN IN+MI

Established Series
Rev. JLS-MLW-KKN
11/2021

WILLIAMSTOWN SERIES

The Williamstown series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils that are moderately deep to dense till. The soils formed in as much as 56 cm (22 inches) of loess and in the underlying loamy till. They are on till plains. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1016 mm (40 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 11.1 degrees C (52 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Williamstown silt loam, on a convex, 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 255 meters (835 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (9 inches); 90 percent brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, and 10 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam subsoil material; moderate medium granular structure; friable; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. [13 to 25 cm (5 to 10 inches) thick]

2Bt1--23 to 46 cm (9 to 18 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; few medium prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 1 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

2Bt2--46 to 84 cm (18 to 33 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common fine black (10YR 2/1) manganese concretions; common medium prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 1 percent rock fragments; neutral; clear wavy boundary. [Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 38 to 76 cm (15 to 30 inches).]

2BCt--84 to 94 cm (33 to 37 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent rock fragments; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; clear wavy boundary. [0 to 63 cm (25 inches) thick]

2Cd--94 to 203 cm (37 to 80 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loam; massive; very firm; common fine distinct gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions in the matrix; 1 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Decatur County, Indiana; about 2.5 miles north and 1 mile west of Westport; 1,030 feet west and 2,080 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 23, T. 9 N., R. 8 E.; USGS Westport, Indiana topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 12 minutes 36.9 seconds N. and long. 85 degrees 35 minutes 52.7 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 621048 easting and 4341051 northing, NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the loess: 0 to 56 cm (0 to 22 inches)
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to densic contact: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Particle-size control section: averages 27 to 35 percent clay
Rock fragments: dominantly of limestone or crystalline lithology

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam, clay loam, loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral

A horizon, where present:
Thickness: less than 15 cm (6 inches)
Hue: 10YR
Value: 3
Chroma: 1
Texture: silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral

Some pedons have a BE horizon with chroma of 4 to 6.

2Bt or Bt horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: silty clay loam or clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

2BCt or BCt horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: loam or less commonly fine sandy loam
Clay content: averages 15 to 27 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 35 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

Some pedons have a 2CBt or CBt horizon.

2Cd or Cd horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam or less commonly fine sandy loam
Clay content: averages 10 to 25 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 20 to 45 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bogart, Centerburg, Cygnet, Haney, Houcktown, Jenera, Jugtown, Nicely, Passport, Reaville, Scattersville, Swampoodle, Thackery, Tuscola, Vallonia, and Vanlue series. Bogart, Haney, and Thackery soils have more than 10 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Centerburg soils have rock fragments dominantly of sandstone or shale lithology. Cygnet and Jenera soils average more than 25 percent clay in the lower part of the control section. Houcktown and Vanlue soils are deeper than 102 cm (40 inches) to a densic contact. Jugtown soils have rock fragments of sandstone, chert, and shale lithology. Nicely and Passport soils are more than 102 cm (40 inches) to the base of the argillic horizon. Reaville soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Scattersville, Swampoodle, and Vallonia soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 102 cm (40 inches). Tuscola soils contain less than 1 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Williamstown soils are on till plains of Wisconsinan age. Slope ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Williamstown soils formed in loamy till that can be capped with up to 56 cm (22 inches) of loess. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 864 to 1118 mm (34 to 44 inches). Mean annual temperature ranges from 8.3 to 12.2 degrees C (47 to 54 degrees F). Frost-free period is 140 to 190 days. Elevation is 177 to 466 meters (580 to 1,530 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brookston, Crosby, Fincastle, Miami, and Treaty soils. The poorly drained Brookston and Treaty soils are in lower lying depressions. The somewhat poorly drained Crosby and Fincastle soils are on summits below the Williamstown soils. The Miami soils are on higher lying summits or lower lying, more sloping backslopes.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Depth to the top of a perched high water table ranges from 30 to 76 cm (1.0 to 2.5 feet) during the winter and early spring in normal years. Potential for surface runoff is low to very high depending on slope. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and moderately low or low in the underlying dense till. Permeability is moderate or moderately slow in the solum and slow or very slow in the underlying dense till.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used to grow corn and soybeans. A small acreage is in small grain, hay, pasture, or woodland. Native vegetation is mixed hardwoods.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 111A, 111C, and 111D in Indiana, and of lesser extent in MLRAs 98 and 111B in Michigan. The type location is in MLRA 111A. The series is of moderate extent.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Decatur County, Indiana, 1980.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface a depth of 23 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 84 cm (2Bt horizon).
Densic contact: at 94 cm (top of the 2Cd horizon).

Representative data mapunit for this pedon is DMU ID 153424 in MO 11.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available for pedon S76IN31-28-(l-5) from the Purdue University Soil Characterization Laboratory, W. Lafayette, IN. Characterization data for other pedons is available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE. Transect data is on file at the MLRA Project Office in Indianapolis, Indiana.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.