LOCATION WHITAKER IN+IL MI OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aeric Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Whitaker loam, on a slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 800 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
E--9 to 17 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; common medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Btg1--17 to 27 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; common fine black (10YR 2/1) iron and manganese oxide concretions; 2 percent fine gravel; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btg2--27 to 39 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; common fine black (10YR 2/1) iron and manganese oxide concretions; 2 percent fine gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 14 to 52 inches.)
BC--39 to 48 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
C1--48 to 58 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) stratified silt loam and loam; massive; friable; thin strata of loamy sand and fine sand; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron oxide accumulation in the matrix; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions in the matrix; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
C2--58 to 86 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) stratified loamy fine sand, fine sand, loamy sand, and sand; massive; very friable and loose; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Marshall County, Indiana; about 2 miles south of Bremen; 1,000 feet north and 2,100 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 11, T. 34 N., R. 3 E.; U.S.G.S. Bremen, IN topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 24 minutes 28.6 seconds N. and long. 86 degrees 8 minutes 39.1 seconds W., NAD 27; UTM Zone 16, 571529 easting and 4584404 northing, NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 32 to 60 inches
Thickness of the silty sediments: 0 to 20 inches
Rock fragment content: 0 to 5 percent fine gravel in the solum and 0 to 14 percent in the substratum
Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
E or BE horizon:
Hue: 10YR,
Value: 4 or 5
Chroma: 2 or 3
Texture: loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam, or less commonly silty clay loam or silt loam
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Btg or Bt horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: loam, sandy loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam, or less commonly may have up to 10 inches of silty clay loam in the upper part
Reaction: strongly acid or moderately acid in the upper part and moderately acid to neutral in the lower part
BC or BCg horizon:
Hue: 7.5YR to 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: loam or sandy loam
Reaction: moderately acid to slightly alkaline
C or Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: stratified loam, silt loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam; some pedons have strata of coarse sandy loam, loamy coarse sand, coarse sand, sand, loamy fine sand, fine sand, or loamy sand
Sand content: combined fine sand and very fine sand content averages less than 40 percent
Reaction: slightly acid to moderately alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Angola, Appleton, Ayrshire, Burdett, Crawleyville, Darien, Digby, Jimtown, Mitiwanga, Mongle, Ovid, Shadeland, and Sleeth series. Angola, Mitiwanga, and Shadeland soils have bedrock at depths of less than 40 inches. Appleton and Burdett soils have more than 5 percent rock fragments in the upper part of the series control section. Ayrshire soils average more than 40 percent fine sand plus very fine sand in the lower part of the series control section. Crawleyville soils have a reaction that is more acid than slightly acid in the lower part of the series control section. Darien and Ovid soils are not stratified within the series control section. Digby, Jimtown, and Sleeth soils average more than 14 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the series control section. Mongle soils have larger rock fragments that are of mixed lithology in the lower part of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Whitaker soils formed in stratified silty and loamy outwash sediments and are on flats and rises on outwash plains, lake plains, till plains, valley trains, and stream terraces. Some pedons have a mantle of silty sediments up to 20 inches in thickness. Slope gradients range from 0 to 6 percent. Mean annual temperature ranges from 49 to 57 degrees F., mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 45 inches, frost-free period ranges from 140 to 210 days, and elevation ranges from 360 to 1,000 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Martinsville and Rensselaer soils. The well drained Martinsville soils are on slightly higher rises. The poorly drained or very poorly drained Rensselaer soils are in swales or depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to medium. Permeability is moderate. In drained areas, the depth to the top of an apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 0.5 to 2 feet from December to April in normal years. In undrained areas, the depth to the top of the apparent seasonal high water table ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 feet from November to May in normal years. Some areas are subject to rare to frequent periods of flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: Soils are mostly cropped to corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. Native vegetation is dominantly deciduous hardwood forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 98, 110, 111, 114, and 115 in Indiana, southern Michigan, western Ohio, and Illinois. The type location is in MLRA 111. The soils are of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bartholomew County, Indiana, 1936.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to 17 inches (Ap, E horizons)
Argillic horizon: from 17 to 39 inches (Btg1, Btg2 horizons)
Aquic conditions: redoximorphic features present in all horizons between 9 to 58 inches
A till substratum phase and a flooded phase have been recognized. The Baugo series was established to represent the till substratum phase. The flooded phase may become a new series as subset soil surveys with this phase are updated.
NASIS Data Mapunit ID 401634 represents the typical pedon.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab characterization data is available for the typical pedon (MS7602) from the Purdue University Soil Characterization Lab, AES Bulletin 222, Vol. 4, Pg. 232. Transect data (T01IN-099-001) for the typical pedon is on file in the MLRA Project Office, Plymouth, Indiana. Transect shows 40 percent Whitaker soils, 20 percent Baugo soils, 30 percent Crosier soils, and 10 percent Brookston soils.