LOCATION BAINTER INEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Bainter sandy loam, on a 0.5 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of 843 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots throughout; common very fine and fine vesicular and tubular pores; 4 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 9 inches thick)
E--9 to 13 inches; 90 percent brown (10YR 4/3) and 10 percent brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots throughout; common very fine and fine vesicular and tubular pores; 4 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
2Bt1--13 to 22 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots between peds; common very fine to medium vesicular and tubular pores; few distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings in root channels and pores; 13 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt2--22 to 31 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) coarse sandy loam; weak and moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots between peds; common very fine to medium vesicular and tubular pores; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 11 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt3--31 to 39 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly coarse sandy loam; weak and moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots between peds; common very fine to medium vesicular and tubular pores; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; 29 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
2Bt4--39 to 44 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots between peds; common very fine to medium vesicular and tubular pores; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) and dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 12 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
2Bt5--44 to 54 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots between peds; common very fine to medium vesicular and tubular pores; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; 14 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizon is 30 to 60 inches.)
3C--54 to 80 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4), pale brown (10YR 6/3), and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) coarse sand; single grain; loose; 13 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Elkhart County, Indiana; about 1 1/2 miles southeast of Benton; 2,520 feet north and 2,335 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 17, T. 35 N., R. 7 E.; U.S.G.S. Lake Wawasee, IN topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 29 minutes 14 seconds N. and long. 85 degrees 44 minutes 25 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 605161 easting and 4593617 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 40 to 70 inches
Particle-size control section: averages 10 to 18 percent clay
Ap, A, or AB horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 2, 2.5, or 3
Chroma: 1 to 3
Texture: sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Rock fragment content: 0 to 6 percent gravel
E, EB, BE, or BA horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 to 4
Texture: sandy loam
Reaction: strongly acid to neutral
Rock fragment content: 0 to 6 percent gravel
Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, or sandy clay loam; gravelly analogues of these textures may be present in the lower part
Reaction: strongly acid to slightly alkaline
Rock fragment content: 3 to 14 percent gravel in the upper part and 6 to 34 percent gravel in the lower part; 0 to 5 percent cobbles
BC horizon: (where present)
Texture: loamy sand or loamy coarse sand
3C horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 7
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: coarse sand, loamy sand, or coarse sand, or their gravelly or very gravelly analogues
Sand content: averages more than 85 percent; coarse sand plus very coarse sand is more than 10 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Rock fragment content: 10 to 50 percent gravel and 0 to 5 percent cobbles
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 0 to 30 percent
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family. Similar soils that occur in the same MLRAs are the Billett and Desker series. Billett soils average less than 10 percent coarse sand plus very coarse sand in the lower part of the series control section. Desker soils are less than 40 inches to the base of the argillic horizon. These soils have a superactive cation-exchange activity class.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bainter soils formed in loamy or sandy outwash and are on broad swells on outwash plains and on treads of outwash terraces. Slope gradients range from 0 to 10 percent. Mean annual temperature ranges from 50 to 52 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 40 inches, frost-free period ranges from 130 to 180 days, and elevation ranges from 580 to 1,530 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brady, Bronson, and Gilford soils. The somewhat poorly drained Brady soils and the moderately well drained Bronson soils are on lower-lying swells. The very poorly drained Gilford soils are in depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to low. Permeability is moderately rapid in the solum and very rapid in the underlying material.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are mostly used to grow corn, soybeans, and small grain. Some areas are used for pasture. Irrigation is commonly used on these soils. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood and prairie grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 98 and 111 in north-central Indiana. The soils are of small extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Elkhart County, Indiana, 1997.
REMARKS: This soil is considered as a probable source of sand and gravel. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to 13 inches (Ap, E horizons)
Argillic horizon: from 13 to 54 inches (2Bt1, 2Bt2, 2Bt3, 2Bt4, 2Bt5 horizons)
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 124241 represents the typical pedon.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 124242 represents the 1 to 4 percent slope phase.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401574 represents the 4 to 10 percent slope, eroded phase.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available for the typical pedon (S93IN-039-016) from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE.