LOCATION MUSE KY+OH TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Muse silt loam - forested (Colors are for moist soil)
Oe--0 to 1 inch; moderately decomposed organic duff; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--1 to 3 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick)
AB--3 to 6 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and medium and few coarse roots; 2 percent shale channers; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
E--6 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium and few coarse roots; few fine tubular pores; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--14 to 21 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine and medium roots; few fine tubular pores; common distinct brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--21 to 38 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate medium and coarse angular blocky structure; firm; sticky, slightly plastic; few fine and medium roots; many faint clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent shale channers; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (6 to 30 inches thick)
Bt3--38 to 46 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery silty clay; strong medium and coarse angular blocky structure; very firm; sticky, plastic; few fine roots; many faint clay films of faces of peds; 15 percent shale channers; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
Cr--46 to 56 inches; very strongly acid; weathered black fissile shale.
R--56 inches; hard black fissile shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Estill County, Kentucky; about .9 miles southwest of the community of Cressie; about 4500 feet (airline) northeast of Puckett Lake in a narrow gap between Woodward Creek and Twin Creek; 37 degrees, 49 minutes, 26 seconds N. Latitude; 84 degrees, 01 minute, 33 seconds W. Longitude; USGS Palmer Quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Depth to rock ranges from 40 to 80 inches. Coarse fragments, mostly channers of sandstone, siltstone or shale, range from 0 to 35 percent in the solum and from 0 to 60 percent in the substratum. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to strongly acid, unless limed.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is silt loam, loam or silty clay loam. AB or AE horizons with colors and textures similar to the A horizon are common in forested areas, but are not required.
The E or BE horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. Texture is silt loam, loam or silty clay loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Lithochromic mottles in shades of brown or red are common, mostly in the lower part. Texture is silty clay loam, silty clay or clay.
The C horizon (where present) has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 6. Lithochromic mottles in shades red, brown or gray are common or the horizon is variegated in shades red, brown, yellow or gray.
The Cr horizon is soft shale or siltstone, often interbedded with thin layers of sandstone.
The R horizon is hard black shale.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Boden, Braddock, Buckhall, Buffstat, Casville (T) Christian, Clifton, Clover, Danripple, Flagspring, Goresville, Groseclose, Howell, Mount Rush (T), Quantico, Rapidan, Sequoia, Spears Mountain (T), Totier, Trappist, Unison, Warminster (I) and Yellowbottom (T) series in the same family. Boden soils weathered from sandstone and shale in the Ozarks and have less than 20 percent silt in the Bt horizons. Braddock soils weathered from crystalline rocks and have more sand in the argillic horizon. Buckhall and Buffstat soils formed in residuum weathered from gneiss or schist. Casville and Clifton soils formed in residuum weathered from felsic or intermediate igneous or metamorphic rocks. Christian and Groseclose soils formed in materials weathered from interbedded limestone, sandstone, shale, and siltstone and they allow redder colors in the argillic horizon. Clover, Totier and Warminster soils formed in residuum weathered from Triassic aged materials. Danripple soils formed in alluvium. Flagspring soils formed in colluvium weathered from cherty limestone over residuum also weathered from limestone. Goresville soils formed in old alluvium overlying residuum weathered from red siltstone, shale or sandstone. Howell soils formed in unconsolidated sediments that contain detectable amounts of diatomaceous earth or glauconite. Mount Rush soils formed in clayey residuum weathered from mixed felsic or mafic metamorphic and igneous rocks (commonly hornblende gneiss and schist). Quantico soils formed in stratified marine and fluvial sediments of the northern coastal plain. Rapidan soils formed in residuum on ridges in the Culpepper Jurassic-Triassic basin. Sequoia soils formed in residuum weathered from interbedded siltstone and shale and they are moderately deep to paralithic contact. Spears Mountain soils formed in residuum weathered from schist, phyllite or other fine grained rock. Trappist soils are moderately deep. Unison soils formed in colluvium and alluvium 3 to 6 feet thick derived from a mixture of basic rocks and basic and acidic crystalline rocks. Yellowbottom soils formed in residuum weathered from sericite schist, phylonite and metamonzagranite.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Muse soils are on side slopes, foot slopes, and benches on uplands. Slopes range from 2 to 60 percent. These soils formed in residuum or colluvium weathered from acid shale and siltstone. Near the type location annual temperature ranges from 53 to 56 degrees F with a mean of 56 degrees. Annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 52 inches with a mean of 47 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Trappist soils and the Colyer, Covedale, Cruze, Gilpin, Jefferson, Jessietown, Rarden, Rigley, Rohan, Shelocta and Wharton soils on adjacent landforms. Colyer and Rohan soils are shallow. Covedale and Jessietown soils are fine-silty. Gilpin, Jefferson, Shelocta and Wharton soils are fine-loamy. Cruze, Rarden and Wharton soils are moderately well drained. Gilpin, Jessietown, Rarden and Trappist soils are moderately deep to bedrock. Rigley soils are coarse-loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is slow. Runoff is high on slopes of less than 5 percent and very high on slopes greater than 5 percent.
USE AND VEGETATION: Forest and crops, principally hay or pasture. Small acreages of corn, tobacco, small grains, truck crops or fruits are produced on less sloping areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Knobs Region of Kentucky; and possibly east Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio. The extent is large.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bradley County, Tennessee, l951.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 6 inches (A)
Albic horizon: 6 to 14 inches (E)
Argillic horizon: 14 to 46 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3).
Paralithic contact at 46 inches (Cr)