LOCATION ELLSWORTH OH+PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, illitic, mesic Aquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Ellsworth silt loam on an east-facing 4 percent slope in idle field at an elevation of 955 feet. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak medium and fine granular structure; friable; 2 percent pebbles; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
BE--8 to 11 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; 2 percent pebbles; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bt1--11 to 16 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam; strong medium prismatic structure parting to strong medium and coarse angular blocky; firm; thin light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent pebbles; many fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; many fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--16 to 25 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; firm; thin patchy olive gray (5Y 5/2) clay films on faces of peds; olive gray (5Y 5/2) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coatings on vertical faces of prisms and brown (10YR 4/3) coatings on faces of peds; 2 percent pebbles; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--25 to 37 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate coarse angular blocky; very firm, dense; thin continuous dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay films on vertical faces of peds; thin patchy olive gray (5Y 5/2) clay films on horizontal faces of peds; common black (10YR 2/1) iron and manganese oxide stains in ped interiors; 3 percent pebbles; strongly acid in the upper part but slightly acid in the lower part; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 13 to 31 inches)
C--37 to 60 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam; weak thick platy rock structure; very firm; light gray (10YR 7/2) accumulations of carbonate along horizontal fractures; 3 percent pebbles; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Mahoning County, Ohio; Jackson Township; T. 2 N., R. 4 W.; 325 feet north and 100 feet west of the intersection of State Route 18 and Lipkey Road; about 1 3/4 miles east of North Jackson; USGS Canfield, Ohio topographic quadrangle; latitude 41 degrees, 06 minutes, 05 seconds N. and longitude 80 degrees, 49 minutes, 24 seconds W. NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness ranges from 28 to 46 inches. The particle-size control section averages 35 to 45 percent clay. Rock fragment lithology is predominantly shale and siltstone, with minor amounts of limestone and crystalline erratics.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 or 3. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral. In uncultivated areas, the A horizon is 1 to 3 inches thick and has value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 or 2.
Some pedons have an E horizon, 3 to 8 inches thick that has value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 or 4. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid.
The BE horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silty clay loam or silt loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid. Silty degradation surfaces are common in the BE and Bt horizons in some pedons.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silty clay, clay, silty clay loam or clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid in the upper part and strongly acid to neutral in the lower part.
A BC or BCt horizon, up to 12 inches thick is present in some pedons. It has a matrix and coating colors similar to that of the Bt horizon. It is clay loam or silty clay loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to slightly alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is clay loam or silty clay loam. Subhorizons of silty clay are in some pedons. Rock fragment content ranges from 2 to 10 percent. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 5 to 15 percent. Shale and sandstone substratum phases are recognized. In shale and sandstone substratum phases, bedrock is at depths of 40 to 72 inches. The C horizon is silty clay loam and silty clay with shaly analogues in the shale substratum phase, and loam and sandy loam with channery analogues in the sandstone substratum phase. These phases are commonly noncalcareous to bedrock.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cardington, Geeburg, Glynwood, Mississinewa, Mortimer, Pert, Shinrock and Wyatt series. The Cardington soils have rock fragments of primarily sandstone and shale in the series control section. The Glynwood and Mortimer soils have a calcium carbonate equivalent of more than 15 percent in the lower part of the series control section. Geeburg soils average more than 45 percent clay in the particle size control section. Mississinewa and Pert soils have sola less than 28 inches thick. Shinrock and Wyatt soils have less than 2 percent rock fragments in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ellsworth soils are on end moraines and dissected portions of ground moraines of Wisconsinan age. They formed in till with a calcium carbonate equivalent of between 5 and 15 percent. Slope range is from 0 to 70 percent. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 34 to 43 inches and the mean annual temperature ranges from 49 to 51 F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Mahoning, Miner, and Trumbull soils. The somewhat poorly drained Mahoning soils, the poorly drained Trumbull soils, and the very poorly drained Miner soils form a toposequence with the Ellsworth soils. These soils occupy lower or less sloping landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. The potential for surface runoff is moderate to very high. Permeability is slow or very slow. A perched seasonal high water table is from 1.5 to 3.0 feet from November to May in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Areas with slopes less than 18 percent are mostly cleared and used as cropland. Corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, and mixed hay are the principal crops. Steeper areas are in woodland or permanent pasture. Original vegetation was deciduous forest. Many areas near cities are in nonagricultural uses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Ohio. MLRA's 100 and 139. The series is of large extent, with more than 130,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mahoning County, Ohio, 1917.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data are available for the following profiles in Ohio: CY-S5; GA-S16; HU-5; HU-E5; LR-9; LR-10; LR-11; LR-12; LR-S5; MD-9; MD-3 ; MH-34; PG-S11.
REMARKS: 1.) Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 11 inches (Ap, BE); b. Argillic horizon - the zone from 11 to 37 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3);
c. Aquic conditions - the zone from 11 to 37 inches.
2.) The typical pedon appears to have a densic contact described. This feature will need to be evaluated during MLRA updates.
3.) The sandstone and shale substratum phases will need to be evaluated during MLRA update activities.