LOCATION GRITNEY NC+AL GA VA
Established Series
Rev. AG: DTA
11/2025
GRITNEY SERIES
MLRA(s): 133A, 153A
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Moderately well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately low
Shrink-Swell Potential: Moderate
Landscape: Coastal Plain uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Fine-textured sediments in the Coastal Plain
Slope: 0 to 15 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 18 degrees C (65 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1270 millimeters (50 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Aquic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Gritney fine sandy loam -- cultivated, on a 3 percent slightly convex slope (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and few medium roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 25 centimeters (2 to 10 inches) thick)
Btl--15 to 36 centimeters (6 to 14 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few fine and medium roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--36 to 69 centimeters (14 to 27 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few medium roots; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulations; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--69 to 107 centimeters (27 to 42 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8), light gray (10YR 7/2), red (2.5YR 4/8), brownish yellow (10YR 6/8), and dark yellowish brown ( 10YR 4/6) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; the areas of brown, yellow, and red are iron accumulations and the areas of gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 51 to 127 centimeters (20 to 50 inches.)
BC--107 to 145 centimeters (42 to 57 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8), light gray (10YR 7/2), red (2.5YR 4/8), brownish yellow 10YR 6/8), and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6), clay that has pockets of sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; the areas of yellow, brown and red are iron accumulations and the areas of gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C--145 to 152 centimeters (57 to 60 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8), light gray (10YR 7/2), red (2.5YR 4/8), brownish yellow (10YR 6/8), and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) clay loam; massive; friable; the areas of brown, red, and yellow are iron accumulations and the areas of gray are iron depletions; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Halifax County, North Carolina; about 2 miles south North Carolina 561 on Secondary Road 1001, about 400 feet west on a farm path, about 170 feet north of farm path, in a field; USGS Enfield, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.235556
Longitude-- -77.658889
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 89 to greater than 152 centimeters (35 to greater than 60 inches)
Depth to bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 46 to 91 centimeters (18 to 36 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 10 percent, by volume, throughout.
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to strongly acid, unless limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 5, chroma of 2 to 6
Texture--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. Eroded phases are sandy clay loam or clay loam.
E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of l0YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture--is loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam.
BA or BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or lOYR, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture--sandy loam or sandy clay loam.
Bt horizon:
The upper part has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Iron accumulations in shades of red or brown are present in most pedons. Iron depletions are within the upper 24 inches of the Bt horizon.
The middle and lower part has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 8, or it is a combination of colors in shades of gray, brown, red or yellow.
Texture--clay, clay loam, or sandy clay. Some pedons have thin subhorizons of sandy clay loam. Silt content is less than 30 percent.
BC or CB horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8, or is a combination of colors in shades of gray, brown, red or yellow.
Texture--clay loam or sandy clay
C or 2C horizon:
Color--variable in color but commonly has a combination of colors in shades of brown, red, gray, and yellow.
Texture--sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam with lenses, pockets or strata of loamy sand, sandy loam, or sandy clay. In some pedons, the lower part of the C horizon is clay.
Cg or 2Cg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 7, chroma of 0 to 2. Redoximorphic features are common in shades of gray, brown, red, and yellow.
Texture--sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam with lenses, pockets or strata of loamy sand or sandy loam. In some pedons, the Cg or 2Cg horizon may have a texture of clay.
COMPETING SERIES:
Craven soils--contain 30 percent silt or higher in the Bt horizon
Creedmoor soils--formed in residuum from Triassic material and occur in the piedmont
Dogue soils--occur on stream and marine terraces
Helena soils--formed in residuum from felsic crystalline rock and occur in the piedmont
Lignum soils--contain 30 per cent silt or higher in the Bt horizon, formed in residuum from the Carolina slate belt, and occur in the piedmont
Nevarc soils--contain 30 percent silt or higher in the Bt horizon
Peawick soils--contain 30 percent silt or higher in the Bt horizon and occur on stream terraces
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Fine-textured sediments in the Coastal Plain
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 to 20 degrees C (59 to 68 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1143 to 1397 millimeters (45 to 55 inches)
Frost Free Period: 200 to 250 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Bonneau soils--have an arenic surface, are well drained, and are fine-loamy
Caroline soils--are well drained
Cowarts soils--are fine-loamy
Dothan soils--are fine-loamy, well drained, and have greater than 5 percent plinthite in the lower horizons
Duplin soils--have thicker solums and are on slopes less than 7 percent
Faceville soils--have thicker solums and are red in color
Fuquay soils--have an arenic surface and have greater than 5 percent plinthite in the lower horizons
Goldsboro soils--are fine loamy and are on slopes less than 10 percent
Marlboro soils--are well drained
Nobocco soils--are fine-loamy, are moderately well to well drained, and are on slopes less than 6 percent
Norfolk soils--are fine loamy and well drained
Orangeburg soils--are well drained and have thicker solums
Wagram soils--have an arenic surface, are somewhat excessively drained, and are fine-loamy
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Moderately well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland, pasture and woodland
Dominant vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, soybeans, small grain, cotton, peanuts and hay and pasture. Where wooded--white oak, post oak, southern red oak, red maple, sweetgum, hickory, elm, ash, American sycamore, beech, and loblolly pine. Common understory plants are American holly, dogwood, sassafras, sourwood, and waxmyrtle. Threeawn is a common native grass.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia, and possibly South Carolina
Extent: Moderate
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Holmes County Florida; l971.
REMARKS:
Responsibility for Gritney series was transferred to North Carolina in l986. The classification of this series was changed with the 12/86 revision from clayey, mixed, thermic Typic Hapludults to clayey, mixed, thermic Aquic Hapludults. This is based on selected water table studies. The November 2025 revision moved the type location from Northampton County, North Carolina to Halifax County, North Carolina to a more representative site. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 15 centimeters (0-6 inches) (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 15 to 107 centimeters (6 to 42 inches) (Bt horizons)
Aquic conditions--periodic saturation and iron depletions in the zone from 69 to 152 centimeters (27 to 60 inches) (Bt3, BC, and C horizons)
Characterization analysis for typical pedon (S85NC-131-1) was completed by NCSU.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0201 GRITNEY 0-15 59-68 200-250 45-55 20-350
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NC0201 NONE 1.5-3.0 PERCHED DEC-APR >60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
NC0201 0-6 LS LFS 0-0 85-100 5-10 1-4
NC0201 0-6 SL FSL L 0-0 80-100 10-25 2-7
NC0201 0-6 SCL CL 0-0 80-100 20-35 4-8
NC0201 6-57 C SC CL 0-0 90-100 35-60 7-13
NC0201 57-60 SL LS SCL, CL 0-2 55-100 10-35 2-8
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
NC0201 0-6 3.5- 6.0 .5-2. 0-0 6.0-20 LOW
NC0201 0-6 3.5- 6.0 .5-2. 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
NC0201 0-6 3.5- 5.5 .5-1. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0201 6-57 3.5- 5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.06-0.2 MODERATE
NC0201 57-60 3.5- 5.5 0.-.1 0-0 0.06-6.0 LOW
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.