Lake Maxlnkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



zo 



gravelly sandy loam, Marshall sandy loam, Miami sand, Miami 

 clay loam, and muck. 



The first of these, as described by Bennett and Ely, is usually 

 a light or dark brown sandy loam, containing a high percentage 

 of gravel and, frequently, small glacial boulders. The subsoil is 

 a gravelly or sandy clay w^ith numerous small stones scattered 

 through it. This is the type of soil found bordering lakes or old 

 lake basins as a chain of rounded knolls or hills, which are gen- 

 erally composed of stratified and unstratified sands, clays and 

 gravels. There is a large area of this soil, the largest in the county 

 according to Bennett and Ely, on the east side of Lake Maxln- 

 kuckee. It borders the lake from the mouth of Culver Inlet on 

 the north to the mouth of Aubeenaubee Creek near the middle of 

 the east side, and extends east and southeast from the lake about 

 IV2 miles or to the head of Aubeenaubee Creek. 



The Marshall sandy loam borders the lake from the mouth of 

 Aubeenaubee Creek south to Norris Inlet, thence across the south 

 end and up the west side to Arlington station. There is also a 

 small area between the mouth of Culver Inlet and the Academy 

 grounds. This type of soil usually presents a rolling topography 

 and generally occurs in irregular ridges composed of rounded 

 knolls. The soil in the intervening depressions is a heavy black 

 sandy loam. On the rounded knolls the soil is often quite gravelly. 

 Granite boulders often occur scattered over the knolls and ridges. 



The entire north end of the lake and all of the west side south 

 to beyond the Gravelpit is Miami sand. A narrow tongue of 

 the same runs southward along the lake shore to the extreme 

 southern end. The town of Culver and the entire region for some 

 distance to the northwest is of this character. The surface to a 

 depth of about 9 inches is a slightly loamy grayish or yellowish 

 sand of medium texture, while the subsoil is a yellow or orange- 

 colored sand of about the same texture. In the depressions the 

 soil is more loamy, much darker, and extends to a greater depth. 

 The Miami sand presents a very rolling topography and much of 

 it resembles sand dunes in form and appearance. In all prob- 

 ability a large portion was formerly old sand dunes on which 

 plants obtained a foothold and checked the action of the wind. 

 Some of it is even now shifted about by the winds. This soil has 

 been, and still is, a more important factor than any other in deter- 

 mining the character of the lake. 



Miami clay loam is found near the lake in only one place, 

 namely, in a narrow ridge across the south end of the lake and 



