LOCATION ATHOL              PA+MD NJ VA
Established Series
Rev. MS-MJ
09/2008

ATHOL SERIES


The Athol series consists of very deep well drained soils. They formed in residuum mostly from triassic conglomerate or breccia. They are on convex upland slopes of 0 to 35 percent. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high. Mean annual precipitation is 42 inches. Mean annual temperature is 52 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Athol silt loam -- on 8 to 15 percent convex southwest facing slopes in a cultivated field.

Ap-- 0 to 8 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) silt loam, pinkish gray (5YR 6/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many medium roots;10 percent rounded gravel, neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

Bt1-- 8 to 18 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many medium roots; few clay films on surfaces along root channels; 10 percent rounded gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 16 inches thick)

Bt2-- 18 to 26 inches, reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) gravelly silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common clay films on all faces of peds; 15 percent rounded gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 18 inches thick)

Bt3-- 26 to 33 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) gravelly silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky parting to moderate medium platy structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common clay films on all faces of peds; 15 percent rounded gravel; moderately acid, gradual irregular boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)

Bt4--33 to 41 inches; weak red (2.5YR 4/2) gravelly silt loam; weak medium blocky parting to moderate medium platy structure; firm, nonsticky, slightly plastic; common clay films on all faces of peds; 25 percent rounded gravel; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

C1--41 to 50 inches; weak red (2.5YR 4/2) gravelly loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; very few clay films on all faces of peds; 30 percent rounded gravel; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.

C2--50 to 62 inches; weak red (2.5YR 4/2) gravelly loam; massive; firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; very few clay films on surfaces along pores; 15 percent rounded gravel; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Located in Berks County, Pennsylvania; Amity Township, PA. Henry Rhoads Farm, field east of 06188, proceed 473 feet along property line fence row, turn right 90 degrees into field, 55 feet in a southerly direction.; Birdsboro, Pennsylvania USGS 7.5 Minute Quadrangles, lat. 40 degrees, 19 minutes, 9.00 seconds N. and long. 75 degrees, 46 minutes, 3.00 seconds W.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 75 inches. Depth to bedrock is 5 to 10 feet. Rock fragments of shale channers and sandstone and quartzite pebbles range from 0 to 20 percent in the Ap horizon, 5 to 35 percent in the B horizon and 15 to 50 percent in the C horizon. The reaction in unlimed soils is very strongly acid or strongly acid in the upper part of the solum and strongly acid or moderately acid in the lower part of the solum and strongly acid to slightly acid in the C horizon. Illite is the most abundant clay mineral, with chlorite, kaolinite and vermiculite also present.

The Ap horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 through 6. It is silt loam or loam in the fine earth fraction.

The B horizon has hue of 2.5YR and 5YR, value of 3 through 5 and chroma of 2 through 4. The B horizon has textures of loam, silt loam, silty clay loam and clay loam in the fine earth fraction.

The C horizon has hue of 10 R through 7.5YR, value of 3 through 5 and chroma of 2 through 4. Textures are loam, silt loam and clay loam in the fine earth fraction.

COMPETING SERIES: Altlanthus, Burkittsville (T), Cateache, Culleoka, Door, Duffield, Dumfries, Ebbing, Frondorf, Grayford, Hayter, Kell, Lamotte, Legore, Loudonville, Manassas, Mechanicsburg, Middleburg, Morrison, Myersville,, Oatlands, Panorama, Sowego, Spriggs, Sudley, Westmoreland, Wheeling and Williamsburg soils are all in the same family. Altlanthus soils formed in residuum of metabasalt and greenstone schist. Cateache from red interbedded siltstone and shale . Culleoka, Frondorf and Loudonville soils have bedrock within 20 to 40 inches. Door soils have mollic epipedons. Duffield and Wheeling soils have hue in the B horizon that are 7.5YR or yellower. Dumfries formed in feldspathic sandy sediments of the Coastal Plain. Ebbing soil formed in alluvial material weathered from limestone, sandstone, quartzite, and shale on low stream terraces. Grayford soils formed in 0 to 51 centimeters (0 to 22 inches) of loess, till of Illinoian age, and residuum from limestone. Hayter soils formed in colluvium weathered from sandstone, shale and limestone in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province. Kell soils formed in loamy drift over residuum from acid sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Lamotte soils formed in a thin layer of loess and the underlying loamy residuum weathered from sandstone. Legore and Westmoreland soils have sola less than 40 inches thick.. Manassas soils have mottles within 40 inches. Mechanicsburg soils formed in Wisconsinan or Illinoian Age till 20 to 36 inches thick and material weathered from the underlying fractured, fine grained sandstone or siltstone on uplands. Middleburg, soils formed in colluvium and local alluvium from mixed basic and acid rock materials. Morrison soils formed in residuum of weathered noncalcareous sandstone. Myersville soils formed in material weathered from basic crystalline rocks, including greenstone, on nearly level to very steep uplands. Oatlands, Panorama and Sudley soils formed in residuum that weathered from Triassic-Jurassic interbedded sandstone and conglomerate of the Culpeper Basin and Triassic lowlands in the Northern part of the Piedmont. Sowego soils formed in colluvium and local alluvium over residuum of shale, siltstone, fine-grained sandstone and conglomerate on footslopes, fans, saddles and along drainageways in the Triassic-Jurassic Basin of the Northern Piedmont. Spriggs soils formed in residuum weathered from mafic rock. Williamsburg soils are stratified in the lower portion of the argillic horizon.
Bolton, Bookwood, Brecknock, Caribel, Carpenter, Dormont, Leck Kill, Lewisberry, Lunt, Neshaminy, Penn, Ryder, Washington and Weedmark soils are in related families. Bolton soils have rock fragments of chert. Bookwood soils formed in residuum weathered from siliceous limestone and interbedded calcareous shale and siltstone. Brecknock, Carpenter, Dormont and Washington soils have hue in the B horizon that are 7.5YR or yellower. Lunt soils have more than 35 percent sand in the B horizon. Penn and Ryder soils have bedrock within 20 to 40 inches. Caribel, soils that formed in material weathered from basalt. Leck Kill soils have less than 35 percent base saturation and Lewisberry soils are coarse loamy. Neshaminy soils have rock fragments of diabase and quartzite. Weedmark soils formed in residuum from gneiss schist, granite end other similar bedrock.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Athol soils are on nearly level to moderately steep convex and disected upland ridge tops and side slopes. Slopes range from 0 to 35 percent. They formed in residuum weathered from Triassic conglomerate or breccia consisting of a red calcareous matrix containing fragments of limestone, shale, sandstone and quartz. Climate is humid and temperate, with mean annual precipitation of 40 to 44 inches; average annual temperature is 52 to 55 degrees F and the growing season is 170 to 200 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Croton, Hagerstown, Klinesville, Lansdale and Readington soils and the competing soils of Duffield, Lewisberry, Neshaminy, Oatlands and Penn are on nearby landscapes. Croton soils are poorly drained and have fragipans. Hagerstown soils have more than 35 percent clay. Klinesville soils have bedrock within 20 inches of the surface. Lansdale soils have less than 35 percent base saturation. Oatlands soils formed in residuum that weathered from Triassic-Jurassic interbedded sandstone and conglomerate of the Culpeper Basin and Triassic lowlands in the Northern part of the Piedmont. Readington soils are moderately well drained and have fragipans.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow to rapid. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high.

USE AND VEGETATION: Approximately 85 percent of the Athol soils are cultivated or in pasture. Wooded areas are in hardwood trees mostly oak and hickory.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Pennsylvania, central Maryland, New Jersey and northern Virginia. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: York County, Pennsylvania, 1912

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 8 inches.
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 inches to 41 inches.
Additional data: Series revised to conform to series description criteria and nomenclature as revised in Chapter 4 of Soil Survey Manual 430-V. Series recognized as being very deep and depth to bedrock changed in the Range in Characteristics section to range from 5 to 10 feet. Slope gradient changed to 0 to 25 percent.

2008: Pedon Description and type location updated. Prior rev. Rev. EJM-NC-EAW. 06/2001


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.