LOCATION ALTAVISTA NC+AL GA SC VA
Established Series
RLV-DTA-RHB/Rev. JAK; DTA
12/2025
ALTAVISTA SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part), 133A, 153A
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Moderately well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont and Coastal Plain stream terraces, and marine terraces in the Lower Coastal Plain
Landform: Ridges and side slopes
Parent Material: Loamy fluvial sediments
Slope: 0 to 10 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 16 degrees C (61 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1219 millimeters (48 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, thermic Aquic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Altavista fine sandy loam--cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches); brown (7.5YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 30 centimeters (5 to 12 inches) thick)
E--20 to 30 centimeters (8 to 12 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and few medium roots; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches) thick)
Bt1--30 to 58 centimeters (12 to 23 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--58 to 91 centimeters (23 to 36 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common medium distinct gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions and few fine distinct red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 36 to 102 centimeters (14 to 40 inches)
BC--91 to 127 centimeters (36 to 50 inches); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8), gray (10YR 6/1),and strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) fine sandy loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very friable; areas with gray and brown colors are iron depletions and areas with yellow colors are iron accumulations; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 63 centimeters (0 to 25 inches) thick)
C--127 to 157 centimeters (50 to 62 inches); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8), gray (10YR 6/1), and strong brown (7.5 5/8) sandy loam with thin strata of sandy clay loam; massive; friable; areas with gray and brown colors are iron depletions and areas with yellow colors are iron accumulations; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Halifax County, North Carolina; about 2.1 miles northwest of Norfleet on Secondary Road 1800, about 0.5 mile southwest on a farm path, about 500 feet northwest of the farm path, in a field; USGS Norfleet topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.1647
Longitude-- -77.3405
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum Thickness: 76 to more than 152 centimeters (30 to more than 60 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 46 to 76 centimeters (18 to 30 inches), December to April
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 5 percent in the A and B horizons and 0 to 35 percent in the C horizon
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume, in the B and C horizons
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to moderately acid except where the surface has been limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 1 to 4
Texture--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, sandy loam, or loam
E horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, sandy loam, or loam
BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture--fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8.
Texture--loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam. Subhorizons of the Bt horizon in some pedons are fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Content of silt is less than 30 percent
Redoximorphic features--masses of oxidized iron in shades of brown, yellow, or red and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray (iron depletions occur within the upper 24 inches of the Bt horizon)
Btg horizons (if it occurs):
Color--neutral or hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2
Texture--loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam; subhorizons horizons in some pedons are fine sandy loam or sandy loam; content of silt is less than 30 percent
Redoximorphic features--masses of oxidized iron in shades of brown, yellow, or red and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
BC horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8.
Texture--sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or loamy sand
Redoximorphic features--masses of oxidized iron in shades of brown, yellow, or red and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
C horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam; some pedons have 2C horizons that are clayey
Redoximorphic features--masses of oxidized iron in shades of brown, yellow, or red and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
COMPETING SERIES:
Abell soils--have a lithologic discontinuity in the Bt horizon and are on uplands
Santuc soils--formed in residuum weathered from mixed acid crystalline rocks, has a perched water table, and is located on uplands
Tetotum soils--have more than 30 percent silt in the particle-size control section
Winton soils--are saturated by lateral water flow and a perched water table; on steeper side slopes ranging from 8 to 65 percent in the Coastal Plain
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont and Coastal Plain stream terraces, and marine terraces in the Lower Coastal Plain
Landform: Ridges and side slopes
Elevation: 8 to 229 meters (25 to 750 feet) above mean sea level
Parent Material: Loamy fluvial sediments
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 14 to 21 degrees C (57 to 70 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 940 to 1753 millimeters (37 to 69 inches)
Frost Free Period: 185 to 250 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Augusta soils--are somewhat poorly drained (seasonal high water table at 12 to 24 inches)
Chewacla soils--are somewhat poorly drained (seasonal high water table at 6 to 24 inches) and are on adjacent floodplains
Congaree soils--are well to moderately well drained (seasonal high water table at 30 to 48 inches), lack argillic horizons, and are on high floodplains and at the base of slopes
Molena soils--are somewhat excessively drained, are sandy throughout, and are on slightly higher landscapes
Roanoke soils--are poorly drained (seasonal high water table at 0 to 12 inches), have a clayey subsoil, and are on flats and in slight depressions
State soils--are well drained (seasonal high water table at 48 to 72 inches) and are on slightly higher landscapes
Thomson soils--are well drained, have less clay, and are on slightly higher landscapes
Wehadkee soils--are poorly drained (seasonal high water table at 0 to 12 inches)and are on adjacent floodplains
Wickham soils--are well drained, have a redder subsoil, and are on slightly higher landscapes
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Moderately well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland, pasture, and woodland.
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, cotton, small grain, soybeans, and truck crops. Where wooded--loblolly pine, sweetgum, red maple, yellow-poplar, white oak, southern red oak, water oak, American beech, and hickory. Common understory plants include flowering dogwood, blueberry, sassafras, eastern redbud, eastern redcedar, winged elm, greenbrier, sourwood, southern bayberry (waxmyrtle), inkberry (bitter gallberry), summersweet clethra, honeysuckle, and poison ivy
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Altavista soils were correlated in older surveys in Pennsylvania, but those survey areas are outside the MLRA range.
Extent: Large
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Granville County, North Carolina; 1910.
REMARKS: Altavista soils are restricted to fluvial terraces. The 05/06 revision refined the textures of the C and Cg in the range of characteristics. The 03/06 revision dropped MLRA 153B. The December 2025 revision changed the format and moved the type location from Wake County, North Carolina to Halifax County, North Carolina. With the update of the Wake County soil survey, the type location no longer exists.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to a depth of 12 inches (the A and E horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from a depth of 12 to a depth of 36 inches (the Bt horizons)
Aquic subgroup feature--redoximorphic depletions with chroma of 2 or less within the upper 24 inches of the argillic horizon
ADDITIONAL DATA: None
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0054 ALTAVISTA 0-10 57-70 185-250 37-69 25-750
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock
NC0054 NONE COMMON 1.5-2.5 APPARENT DEC-APR >60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay % -CEC-
NC0054 0-12 LS LFS 0-0 90-100 5-10 2-5
NC0054 0-12 FSL L SL 0-0 90-100 10-24 3-8
NC0054 0-12 SIL VFSL 0-0 95-100 10-25 3-8
NC0054 12-36 CL SCL L 0-0 95-100 18-35 3-7
NC0054 36-50 FSL L SL 0-0 90-100 10-24 3-8
NC0054 50-62 VAR - - - -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salinity Permeability Shrink-Swell
NC0054 0-12 3.5-6.5 0.5-3.0 0-0 6.0-20 LOW
NC0054 0-12 3.5-6.5 0.5-3.0 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
NC0054 0-12 3.5-6.5 0.5-3.0 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
NC0054 12-36 3.5-6.0 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0054 46-50 3.5-6.0 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0054 50-62 - - - -
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.