LOCATION RUBICON MI+WIEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, frigid Entic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Rubicon sand, on a 3 percent convex south-facing slope, in a red pine plantation, at an elevation of about 859 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated).
A--0 to 1 inch; black (10YR 2/1) sand, flecked with light brownish gray (10YR 6/2), dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
E--1 to 6 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) sand; very weak medium granular structure; very friable; common roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick)
Bs1--6 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sand; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many roots; common (about 15 percent) distinct cracked coats on sand grains; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--10 to 18 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sand; weak coarse granular structure; very friable; common roots; common (about 15 percent) faint cracked coats on sand grains; moderately acid; clear irregular boundary. (4 to 32 inches thick)
BC--18 to 36 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sand; very weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; moderately acid; chunks of ortstein occur at depths of 18 to 24 inches and represent about 15 percent of the surface area of the horizon exposed; chunks are 4 to 6 inches in diameter; colors are yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) representing 60 percent of the mass and dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) and pale brown (10YR 6/3) representing the remaining colors; massive; few roots; weakly to strongly cemented; moderately acid; clear irregular boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
C--36 to 60 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sand with some coarse sand in upper portion; single grain; loose; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Cheboygan County, Michigan; about 5 miles northeast of Afton; located about 300 feet north and 2,440 feet east of the southwest corner of section 5, T. 35 N., R. 1 W.; USGS Legrand topographic quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 26 minutes 48 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 27 minutes 41 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum ranges from 20 to 50 inches. Coarse fragments range from 0 to 15 percent throughout the pedon. Calcareous substratum phases are recognized.
The A and Ap horizons have hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, 5YR, or is neutral, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 3. The A or Ap horizon is sand or loamy sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 3. The E horizon is sand or loamy sand. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The Bs1 horizon has hue of 7.5YR, or 5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 to 4. Value and chroma of 2 and 3 do not occur together.
The Bs2 horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 3 to 8.
Reaction of the Bs horizons ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The BC horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. The amount of ortstein occurring in the Bs and BC horizons range from 0 to 20 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 8. It is medium or coarse sand. Thin color bands are in some pedons. The reaction ranges from very strongly acid to neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Duel, East Lake, Hartwick, Ishpeming, Karlin, Kiva, Rousseau, Sayner, Sultz (T), and Vilas series. Closely related soils are the Fernlake and Missisquoi soils. Duel soils are underlain by limestone bedrock. East Lake soils are underlain by gravelly sand within the control section. Hartwick soils have one or more horizons that average 15 to 35 percent gravel within the series control section. Ishpeming soils have igneous bedrock at a depth of 20 to 40 inches. Karlin soils have loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam or sandy loam in the 10 to 40 inch control section. Kiva soils have stratified coarse sand and gravel at depths ranging from 10 to 24 inches. Rousseau soils developed in fine sands. Sayner soils contain more gravel in the lower part of the profile. Sultz (T) soils are stratified with loamy, or loamy and sandy material in the lower part of the series control section. Vilas soils have loamy sand textures in the Bs horizon. The closely related Fernlake and Missisquoi soils have isotic mineralogy. In addition, the Fernlake soils are underlain with loamy sand and the Missisquoi soils have more gravel in the substratum.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rubicon soils are on outwash and lake plains, stream terraces, and moraines and to a lesser extent on old beach ridges and sand dunes along the Great Lakes. Slope ranges from 0 to 70 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 27 to 34 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 40 to 47 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Croswell, Au Gres, and Roscommon soils form a common drainage sequence with Rubicon. Kalkaska, Grayling, and Montcalm soils are common well drained to excessively drained associates in similar landscape positions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Surface runoff is negligible to low, dependent on slope. Permeability is rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: The majority of this soil is forested, including pine plantations. Some areas are idle cropland or in pasture. Only a very small proportion is used for small grains and hay crops. The native vegetation and present natural vegetation is dominantly red pine and quaking aspen with some eastern white pine and jack pine. Ground cover consists of blueberries, wintergreen, sweet fern, and bracken fern.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern half of lower Michigan, Upper Michigan, and northern Wisconsin. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ontonagon County, Michigan, 1922.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: albic horizon - the zone from 1 to 6 inches (E horizon); spodic horizon - the zone from 6 to 18 inches (Bs1 and Bs2 horizons). The Bs2 qualifies on the basis of cracked coatings.
The dark subsoil and banded subsoil phases (that have 1/16 to 1/4 inch bands of loamy sand at depths of 40 to 60 inches) are no longer within the series concept.
Burned and severely burned phases are recognized.