LOCATION RAWSON IN+OHEstablished Series
The Rawson series consists of moderately well drained soils that formed in loamy sediments and glacial till on till plains, outwash plains and lake plains. They are very deep to bedrock and are moderately deep or deep to dense glacial till. They are moderately permeable or moderately slowly permeable in the solum and slowly permeable or very slowly permeable in the underlying dense till. Slopes range from 0 to 12 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 36 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 51 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Rawson loam on a 4 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 800 feet above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak coarse granular structure; friable; common fine roots; 1 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--10 to 13 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; many distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) organic coatings on the faces of peds; 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--13 to 20 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--20 to 28 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 13 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt4--28 to 39 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; many distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; 3 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 10 to 34 inches.)
2BCt--39 to 43 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silty clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; common light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings on faces of peds; few medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 1 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 13 inches thick)
2Cd--43 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam; massive; very firm; 2 percent gravel; common light gray (10YR 7/2) carbonate coatings along fractures; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: DeKalb County, Indiana; about 1 mile south of the town of Saint Joe; 500 feet east and 730 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 22, T. 33 N., R. 14 E. USGS Saint Joe, Ind. topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 17 minutes 59 seconds N. and long. 084 degrees 54 minutes 12.5 seconds W. NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the argillic horizon and depth to calcium carbonates is 20 to 45 inches. Depth of the solum and depth to dense till is 24 to 48 inches. Rock fragments are glacial erratics, primarily of limestone, dolostone, and crystalline lithology.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or silt loam. Rock fragments range from 0 to 14 percent. Reaction is strongly acid to neutral.
Some pedons have an E or BE horizon.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is clay loam, sandy clay loam, loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam or their gravelly analogues and averages 18 to 35 percent clay and 40 to 60 percent sand. Rock fragments range from 0 to 30 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid to neutral.
The 2BCt, 2Bt, or 2Btg horizons have hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is clay, silty clay, clay loam or silty clay loam and averages 27 to 50 percent clay and 10 to 30 percent sand. Rock fragments range from 1 to 10 percent. Reaction is slightly acid to moderately alkaline. Calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 0 to 20 percent. Combined thickness of the 2B horizons is
8 to 28 inches.
The 2Cd horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silty clay loam, clay loam, clay or silty clay and averages 27 to 42 percent clay and 15 to 30 percent sand. Rock fragments range from 1 to 10 percent. Moist bulk density ranges from 1.70 to 1.90 g/cm3. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline. Free carbonates are present and calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 17 to 30 percent.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Beech, Blakeslee (T), Cadmus, El Dara, Funkstown (T), Glenhall, Kensington (T), Kidami, Miami, Moon, Octagon, Pevely, Rainsville, Renova, Richland, Shawtown, Summitville, Teegarden (T), Vaughnsville, and Wapahani series. Beech, Blakeslee (T), and El Dara soils do not have carbonates within a depth of 48 inches. Cadmus soils have a dry value of less than 6 in the surface layer. Funkstown (T), Summitville and Teegarden (T) soils are more acid than slightly alkaline in the lower part of the series control section. In addition, Summitville soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 40 to 80 inches. Glenhall, Kidami, Miami, Moon, Octagon, Rainsville, Renova and Wapahani soils average less than 27 percent clay in the lower part of the series control section. Kensington (T) and Pevely soils have bedrock within a depth of 60 inches. Richland soils average more than 10 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Shawtown soils formed in more than 40 inches of outwash materials and do not have dense till within a depth of 48 inches. Vaughsville soils have hue of 5YR or redder in the ochric epipedon and the upper part of the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rawson soils are on till plains, outwash plains and lake plains. Slopes range from 0 to 12 percent. They formed in 20 to 40 inches of loamy sediments and the underlying Wisconsinan glacial till. The mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 55 degrees F, the mean annual precipitation ranges from 27 to 42 inches, the frost free period ranges from 140 to 180 days and the elevation ranges from 700 to 1000 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aurand, Blount, Glynwood, Haskins, Houcktown, Hoytville, Mermill, Morley, Muncie and Pewamo soils. Haskins, Houckton, and Mermill soils are in a toposequence with the Rawson soils. The somewhat poorly drained Aurand, Blount and Haskins soils and the moderately well drained Houcktown soils are on less sloping or lower lying landform positions. The poorly drained Pewamo soils and the very poorly drained Mermill soils are in depressions. The very poorly drained Hoytville soils are on flats and in depressions. The moderately well drained Glynwood and Morley soils are on slightly higher or more sloping landform positions. The well drained Muncie soils are on higher lying positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. The potential for surface water runoff is low to very high. Permeability is moderate in the loamy sediments, moderately slow in the 2B horizons, and slow or very slow in the underlying dense till. An intermittent perched high water table is at a depth of 2.0 to 3.5 feet between January and April in normal years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all areas are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, and hay are the principal crops. Some areas are used for tomatoes and sugar beets, and a few areas are used for pasture or remain in woods. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Rawson Series occurs primarily in MLRA 111 in east-central and northeastern Indiana and west-central Ohio, and to a lesser extent in MLRA 99 in northwestern Ohio and in MLRA 139 in northeastern Ohio. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Allen County, Ohio, 1963.
REMARKS: This revision (5/2000) of the Rawson Series moves the type location to Indiana for now. Future updates of the soil surveys in Indiana and Ohio may require it to be moved again. This revision also incorporates the concept of the Royerton Series into the range of the Rawson soils, thus the Royerton Series will become inactive upon acceptance of the revised Rawson concept. Detailed analysis of the clay contents of the till members in which these soils have been formed indicates two series cannot be consistently separated.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 10 inches (Ap); argillic
horizon - the zone from approximately 10 to 43 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, 2BCt).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab data for this pedon is from the Purdue University Lab No. S79IN33-3-(1-7).