Pit 9

A horizon - 0 to 26 cm; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sand; weak, medium size, subangular blocks; very friable, slightly sticky, non-plastic consistence; few, medium roots; few, small, subrounded, varied lithology clasts; fine sand; clear wavy boundary.

BA horizon - 26 to 35 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) sandy loam; moderate, medium size, subangular blocks; very friable, slightly sticky, non-plastic consistence; few, small, subrounded, varied lithology clasts; fine sand; clear wavy boundary.

B horizon - 35 to 62 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6) loamy sand; weak, medium size, subangular blocks; very friable, slightly sticky, non-plastic consistence; common, small to large, subrounded, varied lithology clasts; fine to coarse sand; clear wavy boundary.

C horizon - 62+ cm; many, small to large, subrounded, varied lithology clasts; coarse sand.

View of Pit 9 Soil Profile

Summary

Soil pit 9 is located on the summit of the Chippewa River terrace in what was once a cornfield.  To the south of the pit site is an oak stand invaded by European buckthorn and staghorn sumac.  In the area around the pit there is evidence of plowing and there is a moderate degree of stoniness due to wind erosion. Soils in this location were previously mapped as Hubbard Loamy Sand 0 to 3 percent slopes (HmA), and are now mapped as the Finchford Series in the 1999 Pepin County Soil Survey.  Through careful analysis, we have concluded that the Finchford soil map unit most accurately matches the profile description we formulated through field observations and tests at pit 9.  Soil properties and qualities such as drainage class (well drained), dominant parent material (sandy and gravelly glacial fluvial outwash), slope range (0 to 3 percent), and texture (loamy sand) lead us to draw the above conclusion concerning the soil map unit at pit 9.