LOCATION RASALO VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Rasalo sandy loam on mesic Piedmont uplands in intrusive plutons or dikes, in a wooded site. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 6 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6); sandy loam; moderate fine and medium granular structure; very friable; non-sticky; non-plastic; few fine and medium roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--6 to 20 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6); clay; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm; sticky; plastic; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; few 2 mm diameter grains of feldspar; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
Bt2--20 to 30 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/8); sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky; non-plastic; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; few very fine flakes of mica; few 1 mm diameter grains of feldspar; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 20 to 40 inches thick)
C--30 to 60 inches; multicolored in shades of green, yellow, and black sandy loam saprolite; massive; friable; non-sticky; non-plastic; few very fine and medium flakes of mica; slightly acid. (30 to 40 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Halifax County, Virginia; about 3000 feet east on State Road 809 from the junction with State Road 708; 1600 feet north of State Road 809; in a cutover area; in woods; USGS Vernon Hill USGS topographic quadrangle; lat. 36 degrees, 38 minutes, 39 seconds N and long. 78 degrees, 58 minutes, 40 seconds W. (NAD 83).
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum Thickness: 30 to 60 inches
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 60 inches
Rock Fragments: 0 to 20 percent, by volume in the A and E horizons and 0 to 15 percent in the Bt and C horizons
Content of Mica: 0 to 20 percent, by volume, throughout
Soil Reaction: Strongly acid to slightly acid, except where limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6
Texture--sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam, in the fine earth fraction
E horizon: (if it occurs)
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6
Texture--sandy loam or loam fine sandy loam, in the fine earth fraction
BA or BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8
Texture--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8
Texture-clay, clay loam, or sandy clay loam
BC horizon: (if it occurs)
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8
Texture-sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
C horizon:
Color--variable
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-sandy clay loam, loam, or sandy loam
COMPETING SERIES:
Fauquier soils-have red Bt horizons, moderate permeability and is mapped in MLRAs 130, 147, and 148).
Lenberg soils--have a depth to soft bedrock of 20 to 40 inches, and formed in residuum of acid clayey shale, and occurs in the Pennyroyal and Western Coal
Field Regions of Kentucky.
Montalto soils--have a red subsoil and occur on uplands of the northern
Piedmont Plateau and Blue
Ridge.
Needmore soils--have a depth to soft bedrock of 20 to 40 inches, formed in residuum from calcareous shale, and occur in the Ridge and Valley sections.
Norton soils--formed in fine textured till or colluvium, and occur in Triassic Basins of the northern part of the Piedmont Plateau in New
Jersey.
Orenda soils--occur in the northern part of the Piedmont Plateau and have a moderate shrink-swell potential.
Peabody soils--have a depth to soft bedrock of 20 to 40 inches and formed in residuum derived from interbedded olive yellow siltstone and red clayey shale.
Pisgah soils--have a moderate permeability and formed in residuum weathered from limestone bedrock.
Poplimento soils-formed in residuum from a mixture of shale, limestone, siltstone, and fine grained sandstone in the Ridge and Valley portion of the
Shenandoah Valley.
Saucon soils--formed in materials weathered from Triassic fanglomerate of quartzite, and other rocks held together in a red matrix. They also have 15 to 35 percent rock fragments throughout the solum.
Zion soils--have a depth to hard bedrock of 20 to 40 inches.
Similar soils:
Amy soils--have more than 90 percent quartz in the sand fraction (siliceous mineralogy).
Othello soils--have a solum thickness of 24 to 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Mesic Southern Piedmont
Landform: Uplands
Parent Material: Residuum from hornblende gneiss, gabbro, or other mafic rock
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 60 degrees F
Mean Annual Precipitation: 47 inches
Frost Free Period: 180 to 260 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Minniville soils--are red and are intermingled on slightly higher landscape positions
Spriggs soils--have a fine-loamy particle size class, are moderately deep to soft bedrock and deep to hard bedrock, and are intermingled in some areas
Siloam soils--have a loamy particle size class, are shallow to soft bedrock, and occur on steeper side slopes
Jackland soils--are moderately well to somewhat drained, have a smectitic mineralogy class and are on less convex segments of the same landscape
Halifax soils--are moderately well drained, are derived from felsic crystalline residuum, and are on less convex segments of the same landscape
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Surface Runoff: Slow
Permeability of Restrictive Layer (upper 60 inches): Moderately slow to slow
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: mixed hardwood and pine forest
Dominant Vegetation: Where forested--loblolly pine, red maple, sweet gum, black gum, water oak, winged elm, and willow oak.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Mesic region of Piedmont in Virginia and possibly North Carolina
Extent: Small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Halifax County, Virginia, 2005
REMARKS: Rasalo soils were previously mapped as Enon soils. They replace Enon soils in the new mesic Piedmont region.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the soil surface to a depth of 6 inches (A horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 6 to 30 inches (Bt horizons)
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 60 inches
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Data Map Unit ID:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
Rasalo 2-15 57-65 180-260 40-55 150-450
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NONE 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
0-6 SCL L 0-0 95-100 7-20 -
6-30 C CL SCL 0-0 95-100 30-55 -
30-60 L SCL SL 0-0 95-100 7-27 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll-
0-6 3.6-5.5 1-3 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
6-30 3.6-5.5 .5-1 0-0 0.06-0.2 HIGH
30-60 3.6-5.5 .5-1 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW