LOCATION PHILO WV+IN KY MD NY OH PA TN VA
Established Series
Rev. ART-WWB-WFH
04/2025
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. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high. Slope ranges from 0 to 5 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 1150 millimeters and the mean annual temperature is about 11.5 degrees C.
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 15 centimeters; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 25 centimeters thick.)
Bw1--15 to 41 centimeters; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bw2--41 to 56 centimeters; 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 23 to 102 centimeters.)
C1--56 to 81 centimeters; 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 30 centimeters thick.)
C2--81 to 107 centimeters; variegated gray (10YR 5/1) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) loam; massive; firm; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters thick.)
2C3--107 to 152 centimeters; 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 51 to 122 centimeters. Some pedons have stratified sand and gravel at depth as shallow as 76 centimeters, however, the transition zone is 12 centimeters or more thick. In other pedons, medium-textured materials extends to depths of 150 centimeters or more. Depth to hard rock is greater than 150 centimeters. 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,
Issue, and
Pootatuck series are in the same family. The Iotla and Issue soils are 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 5 percent, but are dominantly 0 to 3 percent. The soils developed in recent alluvium washed mainly from sandstone and shale derived soils. Climate is humid temperate. Average annual precipitation ranges from 950 to 1400 millimeters and mean annual air temperature ranges from 8 to 14 degrees C. The number of days without killing frost ranges from 140 to 210.
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.
Holly 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 saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high. A seasonally fluctuating water table rises to within 40 to 76 centimeters 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: Southern Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Southern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. MLRA Extent is large.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) 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 15 centimeters (Ap horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - The zone from 15 to 56 centimeters (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).
3. Fluvaquentic feature - Irregular decrease in organic carbon and low chroma redoximorphic features are within a depth of 60 centimeters of the surface.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.