LOCATION ATLEE VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Fragiaquic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Atlee silt loam - forested.
(Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 2 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
E--2 to 10 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; few fine pores; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
BE--10 to 14 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; few fine pores; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--14 to 23 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure, hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Bt2--23 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) loam; few fine faint pale brown (10YR 6/1) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
Bt3--26 to 52 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay loam; common medium faint pale brown (10YR 6/3) and few medium distinct light brownish gray (2.5YR 6/2) mottles; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium platy and weak medium subangular blocky; hard, very firm, sticky, plastic; compact and brittle in 50 percent of the area; few fine and medium roots between prisms; 0 to 2 centimeters light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very fine sandy loam and sandy clay loam lenses and coatings on faces of prisms; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) mottles in lower section of horizon; few faint films of clay on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (10 to 35 inches thick)
Bt4--52 to 60 inches; multicolored yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), red (2.5YR 4/8) and gray (10YR 6/1) clay loam; weak coarse platy structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few faint clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 18 inches thick)
C--60 to 87 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) clay loam; common coarse prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) and common coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; massive; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Essex County, Virginia; in woods, 30 yards west of VA 604, 1 mile south from junction Va-684 and U.S. 17.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 50 to 70 inches or more. Depth to the hard and very firm horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches. A few pedons contain up to 5 percent fine rounded quartz gravel. The soil is extremely acid through strongly acid, unless limed.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. The A horizon is silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 4. The E horizon is silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon above the 40 to 60 percent compact and brittle layer has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam or clay loam. Some pedons have mottles in a thin layer just above the compact
and brittle layer.
The 40 to 60 percent compact and brittle layer has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 4 or 6. It has
low and high chroma mottles. Lenses of very fine sandy loam less high chroma mottles. Lenses of very fine sandy loam less than 2
cm thick are in some pedons. The compact and brittle layer is loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam or silty clay loam.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 1 through 6. It is loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam or clay.
The C horizon is gray to yellowish brown, strong brown, yellowish
red or red. It is clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay or clay.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ardilla, Cedarbluff and Eylau series in the same family. Bowie, Carnegie, Clarendon, Colfax, Cowarts, Irvington, Robertsdale, and Saucier soils are in closely related families. The Ardilla and Cedarbluff soils have either soft spheriodal masses or nodules of plinthite. Eylau soils have tongues and interfingers of E material in Bt horizons in the lower part of the solum. The Bowie and Carnegie soils do not have low chroma mottles within 30 inches of the soils surface. The Clarendon, Cowarts, and Saucier soils do not have a horizon that is brittle in 40 to 60 percent of its volume; in addition, they have a subhorizon within 60 inches of the soil surface with more than 5 percent plinthite. The Colfax, Irvington, and Robertsdale soils have fragipans; in addition, the Irvington and Robertsdale soils have a subhorizon within 60 inches of the soil surface that has more than 5 percent plinthite.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Atlee soils are on nearly level to strongly sloping uplands in the coastal plain. Slopes range from 0 to 10 percent. These soils formed in fluviomarine sediments. Mean annual temperature ranges from 59 to 64 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation from 40 to 48 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Caroline, Craven, Faceville, Kempsville, Suffolk, Tetotum and Savannah series. Caroline, Craven, and Faceville soils have argillic horizons with more than 35 percent clay. Kempsville soils do not have gray mottles in the upper part of the argillic horizon. Suffolk and Tetotum soils do not have the hard and very firm horizon. Savannah soils have a fragipan.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability above the hard and very firm horizon and moderately slow permeability in the hard and very firm horizon. A water table is at depths of 18 to 30 inches below the surface from November through March.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Atlee soils are used for growing corn, soybeans, small grains, hays and pasture. Wooded areas are in loblolly pine, Virginia pine, oaks, hickory and sweetgum.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Virginia. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Stafford and King George Counties, Virginia; 1970.
REMARKS: The Atlee series was formerly classified as a fine-loamy, mixed, thermic Typic Fragiudults. The change to Fragiaquic Paleudults is based on field studies which showed that although the Atlee soils had a horizon which was hard and very firm, this horizon was not brittle in more than 60 percent of its volume. The mineralogy has been changed to siliceous due to petrographic analysis of two pedons and also to the associated soils.
Diagnostic Horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric Epipedon - the zone from the surface to 10 inches
Argillic Horizons - the zone from 14 to 60 inches
Fragiaquic - the zone with 40 to 60 percent brittleness (26 to
53inches)
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation VA0038 ATLEE 0- 10 59- 64 195-220 40- 48 25- 250SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness VA0038 NONE 1.5-2.5 APPARENT NOV-MAR 60-60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- VA0038 0-10 SIL L VFSL 0- 0 95-100 7-15 - VA0038 0-10 SL FSL 0- 0 95-100 7-15 - VA0038 10-26 SIL L CL 0- 0 95-100 10-30 - VA0038 26-52 CL SICL L 0- 0 95-100 18-35 - VA0038 52-87 CL SICL C 0- 0 95-100 20-45 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll VA0038 0-10 3.6- 6.0 1.-2. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW VA0038 0-10 3.6- 6.0 1.-2. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW VA0038 10-26 3.6- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW VA0038 26-52 3.6- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 0.2- 0.6 LOW VA0038 52-87 3.6- 5.5 0.-.5 0- 0 0.2- 2.0 MODERATE