LOCATION BLOWERS MNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Oxyaquic Glossudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Blowers sandy loam, with a convex slope of 2 percent on a rise between drumlins in a cultivated field.
Ap--0 to 6 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sandy loam; gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; about 10 percent gravel; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
E--6 to 12 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak fine platy structure; friable; about 10 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
E/B--12 to 17 inches; about 70 percent dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam (E); about 30 percent dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) sandy loam (Bt); moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; about 12 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
B/E--17 to 27 inches; about 70 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy loam (Bt); about 30 percent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy loam (E); moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay films in tubular pores, and common faint dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; about 13 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined E/B and B/E horizons are 5 to 24 inches thick.)
Bt--27 to 34 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; common fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) Fe depletions; moderate coarse platy structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky; firm; many distinct very dark brown (10YR 2/2) clay films in tubular pores and common distinct dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; about 14 percent gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 26 inches thick)
BC--34 to 40 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; moderate medium platy structure; firm; common distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/3) clay films in tubular pores; few fine irregularly shaped light gray (10YR 7/2) segregated lime filaments; about 13 percent gravel; slightly effervescent; slightly alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Cd--40 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; massive, moderate platy soil fragments; very firm; fine irregularly shaped light gray (10YR 7/2) segregated lime in seams; about 12 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Todd County, Minnesota; about 4 miles north and 6 miles west of Long Prairie; 42 feet south and 1340 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 32, T. 130 N., R. 34 W., NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to free carbonates ranges from 30 to 60 inches. Depth to the Cd horizon ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Rock fragments of mixed lithology comprise 2 to 15 percent of the volume of the solum and C horizon. Some phases have .01 to 3 percent of the surface covered with cobbles or stones. Some subhorizons may have up to 15 percent cobbles.
The A horizon has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. It is moderately acid to neutral.
The E horizon has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sandy loam or loamy sand or the cobbly analogues of these textures. It is moderately acid to neutral. Most pedons have either an E/B, B/E, EB, or BE horizon.
The Bt horizon typically has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Redoximorphic features range from few to common, fine to medium, and faint to distinct. The Bt horizon is sandy loam, but includes subhorizons of sandy clay loam. It has 8 to 18 percent clay, and 60 to 75 percent sand. It is moderately acid to neutral.
Some pedons have a Btk horizon with hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is sandy loam or fine sandy loam. It is neutral to moderately alkaline.
The Cd horizon has a hue of 2.5Y, or 10YR value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 to 5. It is typically sandy loam but includes subhorizons of loamy sand. It is neutral to moderately alkaline. The bulk density ranges from 1.8 to 2.0 gm/cc. It is considered to be a densic contact.
COMPETING SERIES: These are in the Mikado (T) and Rosy series. The Mikado soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder in the series control section. Rosy soils do not have dense till substratum with bulk density of over 1.8 g/cc in the lower third of the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: These soils have plane to slightly convex slopes with gradient of 1 to 5 percent primarily on drumlins and moraines. They formed in calcareous coarse-loamy glacial till of the Wadena Lobe of the late Wisconsinan glaciation. The upper part appears to have been modified and stone lines have been identified in the field. Mean annual temperature ranges from 37 to 45 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 22 to 30 inches. The frost-free days range from 90 to 145 days. The elevation above sea level ranges from 1000 to 1700 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Becida, Paddock, Rockwood, and Runeberg soils are members of a hydrosequence with the Blowers soils. The somewhat poorly drained Paddock soils are on lower lying sideslope positions on the drumlins. The well drained Rockwood soils are on higher lying and more sloping positions on the drumlins. The poorly drained Becida(T) soils are on toeslopes and sideslopes of drumlins. The very poorly drained Runeberg soils occupy depressions and lower lying areas between the drumlins.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow. Permeability is moderate in the upper part and slow or very slow in the dense underlying till. These soils have a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of 2.5 to 3.5 feet at some time during the period of October to June.
USE AND VEGETATION: The major portion of these soils is under cultivation and used to produce forage crops and small grains. Native vegetation consisted of mixed deciduous-coniferous forest. Dominant trees are basswood, elm, oak, aspen, birch, white spruce, red pine, jack pine, and white pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Minnesota mainly in Becker, Otter Tail, Wadena, and Todd Counties. Moderately extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: St. Paul, Minnesota
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Todd County, Minnesota, 1985.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 17 inches (the Ap, E, E/B horizons); albic horizon - the zone from 6 to 12 inches (E horizon); glossic horizon - the zone from 12 to 27 inches (E/B and B/E horizons); argillic horizon - the zone from 17 to 34 inches (BE and Bt horizons); aquic subgroup - Fe depletions in argillic horizon; densic contact - the zone beginning at 40 inches (Cd horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to MAES CFC No. 2661 for data on typical pedon. Soil Interpretation Record numbers are: MN0286, acid substratum MN0609, morainic phase MN0775.