LOCATION CASCO WI+IL IN OHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Inceptic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Casco loam on a convex southwest-facing 5 percent slope under alfalfa-brome at an elevation of about 1,054 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; friable; common fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 13 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common distinct brown (7.5YR 4/3) clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--13 to 17 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; common faint dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) organo-clay films on faces of peds and on gravels near lower boundary; about 9 percent gravel in lower part; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons ranges from 5 to 14 inches.)
2C--17 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) stratified gravelly coarse sand, very gravelly coarse sand, and extremely gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; about 60 percent gravel as an average; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.
TYPE LOCATION: Sheboygan County, Wisconsin; about 9 miles southwest of Plymouth; 100 feet north and 200 feet east of southwest corner of southeast quarter, Sec. 6, T. 14 N., R. 20 E., USGS Dundee Wisconsin topographic quadrangle; lat.43 degrees 42 minutes 13 seconds N. and long. 88 degrees 08 minutes 57 seconds W., NAD 27:
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the argillic horizon, thickness of the loamy mantle, and depth to stratified sandy outwash all range from 10 to 20 inches. Clay content averages 18 to 35 percent and content of fine sand or coarser averages 15 to 45 percent in the loamy part of the particle-size control section. Volume of gravel ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the loamy mantle. Volume of gravel in the stratified sandy outwash, ranges from 0 to 95 percent in individual strata, and averages from 3 to 70 percent. Volume of cobbles ranges from 0 to 5 percent in the loamy mantle and from 0 to 50 percent in individual strata in the sandy outwash. Reaction typically ranges from moderately acid to neutral in the loamy mantle but ranges to slightly alkaline in the lower part in some pedons. Reaction is slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline in the sandy outwash. Free carbonates occur within a depth of 10 to 20 inches and are in the lower part of the subsoil in some pedons.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. Some severely eroded pedons have chroma of 4 in the Ap. Colors of 3/2 and 3/3 have value dry of 6 or more. Uncultivated pedons have an A horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. The Ap or A horizon is typically sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, gravelly loam, or gravelly sandy loam. The Ap horizon is clay loam or sandy clay loam in some severely eroded pedons.
Some pedons have an E horizon with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, gravelly loam, or gravelly loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR, 7.5YR, or 10YR; value of 3 to 5; and chroma of 3 or 4. It is sandy clay loam, loam, clay loam, or their gravelly analogs. Just above the contact with the calcareous sandy outwash, in many pedons, the lower part of the Bt horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3 ("beta B" horizon) or has coatings with these colors. This thin subhorizon has more than 35 percent clay in some pedons.
The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is typically stratified layers of sand, coarse sand, or the gravelly, very gravelly, or extremely gravelly analogs or has strata of gravel. In some pedons it is sand.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. Related soils are the Bixby and Fox series. Bixby and Fox soils do not have free carbonates within a depth of 20 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Casco soils are on outwash plains, outwash terraces, eskers, kames, and moraines. Slope gradients range from 0 to 70 percent. Casco soils formed in a thin layer of loamy alluvium underlain by calcareous stratified sandy outwash. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 40 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F. The frost free period ranges from about 135 to 200 days. Elevation ranges from 340 to 1500 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Boyer, Fabius, Fox, Lorenzo, Matherton, Mussey, Rodman, and Sebewa soils. The well drained Boyer soils have a thicker loamy mantle, and contain more sand and less silt. The somewhat poorly drained Fabius soils and the poorly drained Mussey soils form a drainage sequence with Casco soils in some areas. The well drained Fox soils, the somewhat poorly drained Matherton soils, and the poorly drained Sebewa soils form a drainage sequence in nearby areas and have a thicker loamy mantle. The excessively drained Rodman soils and the somewhat excessively drained Lorenzo soils are nearby in landscape positions similar to those of Casco soils. Lorenzo soils are in areas where the surface layer is darker colored. Rodman soils are in areas where the loamy mantle is absent.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained. The potential for surface runoff ranges from slow to rapid. Permeability is moderate in the loamy mantle and rapid or very rapid in the sandy outwash.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the less sloping areas are used for cropland. Corn, small grains, and hay are the principal crops. Some areas are used for woodland and some for pasture. Native vegetation is mixed hardwood forest. Common trees are northern red oak, black oak, and white oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 95B, 108, 110, and 111 in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. The typical pedon is in MLRA 95B. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fairfield County, Ohio, 1956.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
ochric epipedon - 0 to 8 inches (Ap);
argillic horizon - 8 to 17 inches (Bt1, Bt2)
contrasting particle size class - 17 inches (contact between the Bt2 and 2C horizons).