LOCATION TRACY INEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Tracy sandy loam, on a convex, nearly level slope under mixed hardwoods at an elevation of 708 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 5 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) crushed, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium and coarse granular structure; friable; 1 percent fine gravel, dominantly shale; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
E--5 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) loam; weak medium platy structure; friable; common fine vesicular voids; faint very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry, sand coatings on faces of peds, color disappears when moistened; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) worm casts; 3 percent fine gravel, dominantly shale; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--9 to 13 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and as linings in voids; faint gray (10YR 5/1) very fine sand coatings on faces of peds; few very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) worm casts; 5 percent fine gravel, dominantly shale; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--13 to 24 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine voids; many faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and as linings in voids; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) organic coatings on faces of peds; 13 percent fine gravel, dominantly shale; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--24 to 33 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; many faint brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and as linings in voids; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) organic coatings on faces of peds; 13 percent fine and medium gravel, dominantly shale; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt4--33 to 47 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; horizon has a 1 inch thick layer of brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly sandy loam; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds and as linings in voids; 14 percent fine gravel, dominantly shale; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt5--47 to 60 inches; stratified brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly sandy clay loam and brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loamy sand; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm and loose; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; common prominent dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay films on surfaces of shale fragments and on cleavage planes; the gravelly loamy sand strata are 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick and there are 3 strata in horizon; few shale channers, 1/2 to 2 inches in length and 1/4 inch thick; 23 percent gravel, dominantly shale; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 32 to 60 inches.)
2C--60 to 80 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) stratified loamy sand, sand, and gravelly sand; single grain; loose; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Porter County, Indiana; about 1/2 mile southwest of Malden; 2,360 feet west and 1,932 feet north of the center of sec. 30, T. 34 N., R. 5 W.; U.S.G.S. Kouts, IN topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 22 minutes 2.7 seconds N. and long. 87 degrees 2 minutes 8.19 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 497019 easting and 4579549 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 40 to 70 inches
Depth to carbonates: 6 feet or more
Particle-size control section: averages 14 to 18 percent clay
Series control section: 0 to 20 percent fine gravel in the upper part and 0 to 30 percent in the lower part
A horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3, more than 5 when the uppermost 6 inches are mixed
Chroma: 2
Texture: loam or sandy loam
Ap horizon: (where present)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 3 or 4, more than 5 dry
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam or sandy loam
Thickness: 6 to 10 inches
E horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 or 4
Texture: loam or sandy loam
Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: commonly loam or sandy loam; individual horizons range to sandy clay, sandy clay loam, or clay loam, or their gravelly analogues
Reaction: very strongly acid or strongly acid
2C horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 5 or 6
Chroma: 3 to 6
Texture: stratified sand, gravelly sand, sandy loam, or loamy sand
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
COMPETING SERIES: These are Brentsville, Chavies, Cranston, Highfield, Lewisberry, Tankerville (T), and Watertown series. Brentsville soils have a lithic contact within a depth of 40 inches. Chavies soils have rock fragments of sandstone and quartzite. Cranston soils have more than 50 percent silt throughout the series control section. Highfield soils are less than 40 inches to the base of the argillic horizon. Lewisberry soils have hue redder than 7.5YR in the argillic horizon. Tankerville soils have a paralithic contact within a depth of 40 inches. Watertown soils have Bt horizons that have a combined thickness of less than 32 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tracy soils formed in outwash containing shale fragments and low amounts of carbonates on outwash plains. Slope gradients are commonly 1 to 5 percent but range from 0 to 18 percent. Mean annual temperature ranges from 48 to 53 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 42 inches, frost-free period ranges from 130 to 170 days, and elevation ranges from 580 to 1,020 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alida, Auten, Door, Hanna, Lydick, and Quinn soils. The Tracy soils are in a drainage sequence with the moderately well drained Hanna soils and the poorly drained Quinn soils. The somewhat poorly drained Alida and Auten soils, and the Lydick soils formed in similar materials. The Lydick soils have a higher base saturation in the lower part of the profile. The Door soils have an umbric epipedon and formed in similar kinds of materials in nearby areas.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is low or medium. Permeability is moderate in the solum and rapid in the underlying material.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are cultivated. Corn, soybeans, and small grain and hay are the principal crops. Native vegetation is mixed forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 98, 110, and 111 in northern Indiana and possibly southern Michigan. The type location is in MLRA 98. The soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: LaPorte County, Indiana, 1934.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to 9 inches (A and E horizons)
Argillic horizon: from 9 to 60 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, Bt4, and Bt5 horizons)
Udic moisture regime
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401642 represents the typical pedon.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401643 represents the 1 to 5 percent slope phase.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401644 represents the 5 to 10 percent slope, eroded phase.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401646 represents the 10 to 18 percent slope phase.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available for the typical pedon (S70IN-127-001) from the National Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE. Transect data (T01IN-127-001) for the typical pedon is on file in the MLRA project office, Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 80 percent Tracy soils, 10 percent Elston soils, and 10 percent Oshtemo soils.