LOCATION CHEOAH                  NC

Established Series
MLS-MSH-AG; Rev. BPS
03/2022

CHEOAH SERIES


The Cheoah series consists of deep, well drained soils on cool, north to east facing ridges and side slopes and those shaded by higher mountains in the Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B). These soils formed in residuum weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks that is affected by soil creep in the upper part. Slopes range from 8 to 95 percent.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, isotic, mesic Typic Humudepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Cheoah channery loam 50 to 95 percent slopes, stony at 4360 feet elevation, on a north facing side slope. Forested (Colors are for moist soil)

Oe--0 to 2 inches; moderately decomposed organic litter and root mat.

A--2 to 13 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) channery loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine to coarse roots; 15 percent by volume metasandstone and phyllite channers and 5 percent flagstones; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.

AB--13 to 17 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) channery loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots; 20 percent by volume metasandstone and phyllite channers; few fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 10 to 20 inches.)

Bw1--17 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) channery loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots; 20 percent by volume metasandstone and phyllite channers; common fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bw2--24 to 34 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and medium roots; 20 percent by volume metasandstone and phyllite channers; common fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 15 to 40 inches.)

BC--34 to 41 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; 25 percent by volume metasandstone and phyllite channers; common fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)

C--41 to 58 inches; varigated in shades of red, brown, yellow, channery fine sandy loam saprolite; massive; very friable; 25 percent by volume metasandstone and phyllite channers; common fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)

Cr--58 to 65 inches; weathered; strongly cemented interbedded metasandstone and phyllite; high excavation difficulty; black (7.5YR 2/1) iron-manganese streaks along fractures; few seams of strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) channery loam along fractures; very strongly acid; few fine and medium roots in cracks that are spaced more than 4 inches apart.

TYPE LOCATION: Jackson County, North Carolina; from US Highway 19 at Soco Gap; 5.5 miles northwest on the Blue Ridge Parkway and 250 feet northwest of the north entrance to Big Witch Tunnel. USGS Bunches Bald topographic quadrangle; latitude 35 degrees 31 minutes 5 seconds N. and longitude 83 degrees 12 minutes 57 seconds W; NAD27

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to 59 inches. Depth to a paralithic contact is 40 to 60 inches. These soils formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part. The portion of the profile affected by soil creep is 40 inches or less and dependent on the length, steepness, and shape of the side slope. The soil is extremely acid to strongly acid in the A horizon, and ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid in the other horizons. Content of mica flakes is few to common throughout but may range to many in horizons immediately above the paralithic contact. Content of rock fragments, dominantly channers and/or flagstones, is less than 35 percent by volume throughout.

The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. It is loam, fine sandy loam, silt loam, or sandy clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
An AB or BA horizon is present in some pedons. They have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 or 4. Textures are the same as the A horizon.

The Bw horizon, and BC or CB horizon where present, have hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture is loam, fine sandy loam, silt loam, or sandy clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.

The C horizon where present, is similar in color to the BC or CB horizon, or is varigated in shades of red, brown, yellow. It is saprolite weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks. It is loam, fine sandy loam, silt loam or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.

The Cr horizon is weathered, weakly to strongly cemented, low-grade metasedimentary rock, moderate or high excavation difficulty, few fine and medium roots in cracks that are spaced more than 4 inches apart.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Plott, Santeetlah, and Tuckasegee series. Plott soils formed in residuum weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks and contain fragments of those rocks. Santeetlah and Tuckasegee soils formed in colluvium.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cheoah soils are on strongly sloping to very steep cool, north- to east-facing ridges and side slopes and those shaded by higher mountains in the Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B). Elevation ranges from about 1800 to 4800 feet. Slope is commonly between 30 and 80 percent but ranges from 8 to 95 percent. These soils formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part and weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks such as metasandstone which is often interbedded with phyllite. Mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 40 to 80 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the competing Jeffrey and Santeetlah series, these are the Brasstown, Cataska, Junaluska, Snowbird, Soco, Spivey, Stecoah, Sylco, and Tsali soils. Brasstown, Cataska, Junaluska, Soco, Sylco, and Tsali soils are all typically in a warmer setting such as ridges, hill slopes, and south- to west-facing mountain slopes, and have ochric epipedons. Snowbird soils have an argillic horizon. Spivey soils formed in colluvium and are in a loamy-skeletal particle-size class.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; saturated hydraulic conductivity is high, permeability is moderately rapid. Index surface runoff is low or medium.

USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all of acreage is in forest. Common trees are northern red oak, black oak, America beech, yellow birch, black birch, black cherry, sugar maple, eastern hemlock, yellow poplar, and yellow buckeye. The understory species are American chestnut sprouts, rhododendron, mountain-laurel, blueberry, striped maple, serviceberry, silver bell, and flame azalea. Common forbs are trillium, hay-scented fern, Solomon's seal, and New York fern.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of North Carolina and Tennessee, and possibly Virginia and Georgia. This series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Macon County, North Carolina, 1990. The name is from Cheoah Bald located in Graham County, North Carolina.

REMARKS: This series was formerly included with the Burton and Porters series. However, Burton is frigid and has bedrock within a depth of 20 to 40 inches. Both formed in residuum weathered from felsic to mafic, igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks such as granite, hornblende gneiss, and mica gneiss and contain fragments of those rocks.
The 1/97 revision placed Cheoah soils in a fine-loamy particle-size class. This series was formerly placed in a coarse-loamy particle-size class. Laboratory PSA (pipette method) and corresponding field texture estimates (feel method) indicate control section clay contents of generally 12 to 24 percent, with most pedons marginally coarse-loamy. Fine-loamy particle-size class placement is based on the presence of amorphous (non-crystalline) clay-size material associated with the relatively high organic matter content found in these soils. Although field estimates, laboratory measurements, and calculated values may vary, clay content in the particle-size control section is generally less than 25 percent. Although Cheoah soils may exhibit some of the characteristics of andic soil properties, they lack the volcanic glass found in soils of similar taxa in the Western United States.

The 10/07 revision reflects the movement of the typical pedon from Graham County, NC to Jackson County, NC.

Revised 02/11-BPS: Taxonomic Classification -- 11th Keys

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the typical pedon are:

Umbric epipedon - The zone from the mineral soil surface to 17 inches (A and AB horizons).

Cambic horizon - The zone from 17 to 41 inches below the surface (Bw1, Bw2, and BC horizons).

Paralithic contact - The contact at 58 inches below the surface (the upper boundary of the Cr horizon).

Characterization data are available from the NSSC Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE S91NC-021-008 and 85NC-075-001.

03/2022 revision: Oe had 2 to 0 inch depths, corrected to be 0 to 2 in horizon depths then added 2 inches to all horizon depths throughout the typical pedon. WJN


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.