LOCATION PHILO              WV+IN KY MD NY OH PA TN VA
Established Series
Rev. ART-WWB-WFH
07/2002

PHILO SERIES


The Philo series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils on flood plains. They formed in recent alluvium derived mainly from sandstone and shale. Permeability is moderate to moderately rapid. Slope ranges from 0 to 6 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 43 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 52 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Fluvaquentic Dystrudepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Philo silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 6 inches, brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick.)

Bw1--6 to 16 inches, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bw2--16 to 22 inches, brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam weak very fine subangular blocky structure; friable to firm; few fine distinct dark brown to brown (7.5YR 4/4) iron concentrations and gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw is 9 to 40 inches.)

C1--22 to 32 inches, gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam, massive; friable; common distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) iron concentrations; common black concretions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick.)

C2--32 to 42 inches, variegated gray (10YR 5/1) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) loam; massive; firm; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick.)

2C3--42 to 60 inches, stratified sand and gravel.

TYPE LOCATION: Barbour County, West Virginia; north of Big Run on the south side of U. S. Highway 119 near the intersection with State Route 36.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 20 to 48 inches. Some pedons have stratified sand and gravel at depth as shallow as 30 inches, however, the transition zone is 5 inches or more thick. In other pedons, medium-textured materials extends to depths of 5 feet or more. Depth to hard rock ranges from 60 inches to 12 feet or more. In most pedons, rock fragments range from 0 to 20 percent in the A, Bw, and C horizons, 0 to 40 percent in the 2C horizon, and average less than 20 percent in the particle size control section. Some pedons, have rock fragments in C horizons that range from 0 to 40 percent, and 2C horizons below 40 inches that range from 0 to 75 percent. Reaction when unlimed ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. If moist value is 3, either the dry value is more than 5.5 or the A horizon is less than 1/3 the thickness from the soil surface to the base of the Cambic horizon. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is silt loam, loam, sandy loam, and fine sandy loam.

The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Low chroma redoximorphic features range from dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) to light gray (10YR 6/1). High chroma redoximorphic features range from dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) to strong brown (7.5YR 5/8). Texture of the fine-earth fraction is silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, and sandy loam. Some pedons have thin horizons where the fine-earth fraction is very fine sandy loam.

Some pedons have BC horizons with colors and textures similar to the Bw horizon.

The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or neutral, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 6, and has redox features. Redoximorphic features are strong brown (7.5YR 5/6 or 7.5YR 5/8), yellowish red (5YR 4/6) or redder. If matrix chroma is greater than 2, redoximorphic features have chroma of 2 or less. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, and sandy loam.

Texture of the fine-earth fraction in the 2C horizon ranges from sand to silt loam.

COMPETING SERIES: The Basher, Iotla and Pootatuck series are in the same family. The Iotla series is somewhat poorly drained with redox features just below the A horizon. Basher soils have hue of 5YR or redder in the Bw horizon. Pootatuck soils have a sand fraction dominated by feldspars.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Philo soils are on nearly level flood plains. Slopes range from 0 to 6 percent. The soils developed in recent alluvium washed mainly from sandstone and shale derived soils. Climate is humid temperate. Average annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 55 inches and mean annual air temperature ranges from 47 degrees to 59 degrees F. The number of days without killing frost ranges from 130 to 200.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the well drained Pope or Wenonah, somewhat poorly drained Stendal, poorly drained Atkins and poorly and very poorly drained Elkins soils on flood plains. The Buchanan, Cotaco and Ernest soils are moderately well drained soils on foot slopes and colluvial fans. The Dekalb, Gilpin and Muskingum soils are well drained upland soils. Chenango and Alton soils are skeletal soils on adjacent terraces. The Holly and Papakating soils are more poorly drained alluvial soils.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Subject to stream overflow. The potential for surface runoff is low or very low and permeability is moderate to moderately rapid. A seasonally fluctuating water table rises to within 1-1/2 to 3 feet below the soil surface.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are cleared and cultivated or pastured. Original vegetation was mixed water tolerant hardwoods.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Georgia, Southern Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Southern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. MLRA Extent is large.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Muskingum County, Ohio, 1925.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

1. Ochric epipedon - The zone from 0 to 9 inches (Ap horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - The zone from 9 to 22 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).
3. Fluvaquentic feature - Irregular decrease in organic carbon and low chroma redoximorphic features are within a depth of 24 inches of the surface.
4. Udic soil moisture regime.

Additional Data: Soil Interpretation Records - WV0020, WV0129.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.