LOCATION MARKESAN           WI

MARKESAN SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Argiudolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Markesan silt loam - on a 3 percent slope in a cultivated field at an elevation of about 972 feet above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 7 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; friable; slightly alkaline; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)

BA--7 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak and moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)

Bt1--9 to 15 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; weak and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; many distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) organo-clay films on faces of peds; few fine chert fragments; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)

2Bt2--15 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; common fine chert fragments; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)

2C1--18 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly loam; massive; friable; about 30 percent angular gravel; few channers and flagstones; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)

2C2--22 to 60 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) gravelly loam; massive; compact; friable; about 30 percent angular gravel; few channers and flagstones; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Dodge County, Wisconsin; about 2 miles east of Fox Lake; 1000 feet south and 1000 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 31 T. 13 N., R. 14 E. USGS Buckhorn Corner Wisconsin topographic quadrangle; lat. 43 degrees 33 minutes 28 seconds N., and long. 88 degrees 52 minutes 10 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 12 to 24 inches. Thickness of the loess mantle ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Thickness of the mollic epipedon ranges from 6 to 15 inches. Depth to carbonates ranges from 10 to 20 inches. The particle-size control section averages from 25 to 35 percent clay. Volume of gravel and channers, mostly angular, ranges from 2 to 12 percent in the 2Bt horizon and from 12 to 60 percent in the 2C horizon. Volume of cobbles and flagstones ranges from 0 to 1 percent in the 2Bt horizon and from 1 to 8 percent in the 2C horizon. Reaction naturally ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid in the loess but ranges to neutral in the upper part where the soil is limed. Reaction ranges from neutral to moderately alkaline in the 2Bt horizon and is moderately alkaline in the 2C horizon. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 60 to 90 percent in the 2C horizon.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. Texture is silt loam.

The BA horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, and value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 to 5. Texture is silt loam.

The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 to 5. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam.

The 2Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, and value and chroma of 3 or 4. Value and chroma of 3 do not occur together. Texture is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam. Many pedons have a thin dark colored layer (Beta B) that results from the accumulation of organic matter contained in the illuviated materials, at the contact between the 2Bt and 2C horizons.

The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is loam or sandy loam or the gravelly or very gravelly analogues of these textures. The calcium carbonate equivalent ranges from 60 to 90 percent.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Hochheim, La Rose, Lickcreek, Linkville, Plattville, Rotamer, Wea, and Wyanet series. Hochheim soils have a calcium carbonate equivalent of 60 to 90 percent in the 2C horizon. La Rose soils a calcium carbonate equivalent of 15 to 40 percent and have less than 10 percent rock fragments in the 2C horizon. Lickcreek, Linkville, Platteville, Wea, and Wyanet soils all are more than 24 inches deep to the base of the argillic horizon and more than 20 inches deep to carbonates. Rotamer soils have calcium carbonate equivalent of 20 to 40 percent in the 2C horizon.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Markeson soils are on moraines. Slope ranges from 2 to 20 percent. These soils formed in a thin mantle of loess and in the underlying highly calcareous, loamy till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 28 to 35 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 48 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are mainly the Mendota and Plano soils and, in some places, the LeRoy soils. They are in areas next to the Markesan series where the loess or silt mantle is thicker over the till. Both Mendota and Plano have thicker sola and are fine-silty. In nearby areas where the surface layer is lighter colored, the LeRoy soils are associates.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is ranges from low to high. Permeability is moderate.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas of this soil are used for cropland. Common crops are corn, small grains, hay, and canning crops. Some areas are used for pastureland. Native vegetation is mainly prairie grasses, forbs, and scattered bur oaks.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Wisconsin, on the shallow ground moraine of the limestone drift region. This soil is of small extent.

MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Indianapolis, Indiana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dodge County, Wisconsin, 1969.

REMARKS:
9/04 The location given for the typical pedon in this OSD did not match the location given for the same pedon in the published soil survey for Dodge County. Since the location in this OSD did not fall in a map unit of Markesan, the location in the OSD is changed to match the location given in the published survey which does fall in a map unit of Markesan.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: mollic epipedon - 0 to 7 inches (Ap); argillic horizon - 9 to 18 inches (Bt1, 2Bt2).