LOCATION OATLANDS           VA
Established Series
Rev. RSW-JHE-DDR
01/2006

OATLANDS SERIES


Soils of the Oatlands Series are moderately deep, well drained with moderate permeability. They 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. Slopes range from 2 to 25 percent. At the type location, mean annual precipitation is about 40 inches and mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F.

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

TYPICAL PEDON: Oatlands loam on a 7 to 15 percent slope in a cultivated area. (Colors are for moist soil).

Ap--0 to 8 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) loam; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent partially weathered sandstone and conglomerate gravel; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

Bt--8 to 19 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) loam; weak, fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; 13 percent partially weathered sandstone and conglomerate gravel; common Fe-Mn nodules in matrix and common Fe-Mn coats on faces of peds and on gravel; few thin clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 25 inches thick)

C1--19 to 28 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) very gravelly loam; mottled with shades of yellow, green and red; massive; very friable; common fine roots; common Fe-Mn coats on gravel and stones, and common Fe-Mn nodules in matrix; 40 percent partially weathered sandstone and conglomerate gravel; 5 percent partially weathered cobbles; few, medium, yellowish red (5YR 5/8) clay flows; strongly acid, clear irregular boundary.

C2--28 to 36 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) extremely gravelly loam; mottled with shades of yellow, green and red; massive; very friable; common Fe-Mn coats on cobbles, and common Fe-Mn nodules in matrix; 60 percent partially weathered gravels and 10 percent partially weathered cobbles; few, medium, yellowish red (5YR 5/8) clay flows; strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the C horizon ranges from 5 to 25 inches).

R--36 inches; fractured interbedded sandstone and conglomerate.

TYPE LOCATION: Prince William County, Virginia; about 1 1/3 miles south of Route VA 234, and about 1500 feet east of Route US 15 in the J.S. Long Park.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 15 to 30 inches. Depth to soft bedrock (if present) and hard bedrock is from 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments of partially weathered Triassic and Jurassic sandstone and conglomerate ranges from about 2 to 35 percent in the solum and to 80 percent in the C horizon. Soil reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid unless limed.

The Ap horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma or 3 or 4. The A horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3 and chroma 0 through 2. The A horizon is loam, sandy loam or silt loam in the fine earth fraction. Eroded Ap horizons include clay loam and silty clay loam.

The E horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 through 6 and chroma of 3 through 6. The E horizon is loam, sandy loam or silt loam in the fine earth fraction.

The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, with value of 3 through 5 and chroma of 3 through 6. Mottles of higher value and chroma are common in some pedons. It is loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam in the fine earth fraction.

The C horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR or 7.5YR and is commonly multicolored in shades of red, brown, green, yellow and black. The C horizon is sandy loam, loam or silt loam in the fine earth fraction.

Cr horizons are present in some areas with very irregular lower boundaries and with tonguing of C materials. The Cr horizon, where present, is partially weathered Triassic-Jurassic sandstone and conglomerate.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Athol, Beech (T), Bolton, Bookwood, Brecknock, Caribel (T), Carpenter, Cateache, Culleoka, Door, Dormont, Duffield, Dumfries, Ebbing (T), Frondorf, Grayford, Greencreek (T), Hayter, Lamotte, Legore, Loudonville, Manassas, Mechanicsburg, Morrison, Myersville, Neshaminy, Panorama, Penn, Renox, Ryder, Spriggs, Sudley, Washington, Weedmark (T), Westmoreland, Wheeling and Williamsburg. The Athol, Beech, Bolton, Brecknock, Carpenter, Dumfries, Ebbing, Lamotte, Legore, Manassas, Mechanicsburg, Morrison, Myersville, Neshaminy, Panorama, Renox, and Westmoreland soils have bedrock within a depth of 40 to 60 inches or more. Bookwood and Culleoka soils are underlain with interbedded siltstone, shale, limestone and some fine-grained sandstone and have fragments of these rocks. Cateache soils contain mostly channers of siltstone and shale and some fine-grained sandstone. The Caribel, Greencreek, and Weedmark soils have mean annual precipitation of less than 30 inches. The Door soils have a mollic surface layer. The Dormont, Duffield, Hayter and Sudley soils have bedrock below 48 inches. The Frondorf, Grayford, Lamotte and Williamsburg soils have a discontinuity and formed partly in a mantle of loess. The Loudonville and Washington soils have subangular to rounded rock fragments from glacial till and from glacial till or colluvium, respectively. The Penn soils have red shale rock fragments and underlain with red silty shale bedrock. Ryder soils formed in thin bedded shaly limestone and contain rock fragments of white quartzite and limestone. The Wheeling soils have water rounded coarse fragments and underlain with sand or sand and gravel.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Oatlands series are on ridges and sideslopes of the Northern portion of the Culpeper Basin and Triassic lowlands. Slope ranges from 2 to 25 percent. These soils developed in residuum that weathered from Triassic and Jurissic conglomerates, and sandstone. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 36 to 50 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 52 to 57 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The associated soils are the competing Legore, Manassas and Sudley soils and the Arcola, Montalto, Nestoria and Oakhill soils. The Arcola soils formed from red shale and siltstone and underlain with red shale or siltstone bedrock. The Montalto soils have red clay subsoils. The Nestoria soils are shallower to bedrock. The Oakhill soils have coarse fragments of diabase and basalt.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium surface runoff and moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is used for the general crops, corn, soybeans, hay and pasture. In some places it is used for residential and commercial development. Few small areas are in forest. Native vegetation is oak-hickory type forest.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Virginia, southeast Pennsylvania and Maryland. Moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Prince William County, Virginia 1985.

REMARKS: This soil has been previously included with Rapidan, Bucks and Penn soils. The Rapidan soils have a high content of clay in the B horizon. The Penn and Bucks soils formed in residuum from red shale. Lab data VPI & SU.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon from 0 to 8 inches (Ap horizon)
2. Argillic horizon from 8 to 19 inches (Bt horizon)

SIR=VA0068, VA0235 (GRAVELLY), VA0267 (STONY)
MLRA=148, 149A
REVISED=11/6/92, MHC


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.