LOCATION BENEVOLA MD+PA VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Mollic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Benevola gravelly silty clay loam, 0 to 8 percent slopes in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soils, unless otherwise noted.)
Ap1--0 to 8 inches; 95 percent dark brown (7.5YR 3/3), silty clay loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; friable; many fine roots throughout; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 17 inches; 85 percent brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; friable; many fine roots throughout and common medium throughout; many fine vesicular pores and many medium tubular pores; few prominent discontinuous reddish black (2.5YR 2/1) manganese or iron-manganese stains on faces of peds and in pores and few faint discontinuous brown (7.5YR 4/3) organic coats on faces of peds and in pores; 5 percent sub-rounded mixed-igneous and metamorphic gravel; neutral; clear irregular boundary.
Bt2--17 to 33 inches; 85 percent dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) silty clay; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky, parting to strong fine angular blocky; friable; common medium roots throughout; many fine vesicular pores and common medium vesicular pores and common medium tubular pores; few distinct discontinuous dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds and few prominent discontinuous black (N 2/0) manganese or iron-manganese stains on faces of peds and in pores; 5 percent surrounded mixed-igneous & metamorphic; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bt3--33 to 41 inches; 90 percent dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to strong fine angular blocky; friable; common fine roots throughout; many fine tubular pores and common fine vesicular pores; common fine and medium rounded black (N 2/0) hard iron-manganese nodules pedogenic throughout; 10 percent sub-rounded mixed-igneous and metamorphic gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
Bt4--41 to 57 inches; 85 percent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; weak thick platy structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky parting to weak fine angular blocky; friable; common fine roots throughout; many fine vesicular and tubular pores; few faint discontinuous dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent sub-rounded mixed-igneous and metamorphic gravel; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary. (combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 30 to 70 inches thick)
C1--57 to 91 inches; 90 percent reddish black (2.5YR 2/1) silt loam; weak thin platy structure; very friable; few prominent discontinuous yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid, clear wavy boundary.
C2--91 to 94 inches; 90 percent black (N 2/0) silt loam; massive; very friable, slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C3--94 to 115 inches; 90 percent black (5YR 2/1) silty clay loam; massive; very friable; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Frederick County, Maryland; in a crop field north east of Woodspring Meadows subdivision, approximately 1,400 feet north of Rt. 144 and Rt. 75 intersection and 1,300 feet east of Rt. 75. Latitude 39 degree's 23' 28.0" N and Longitude 77 degree's 15' 8.0" W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is greater than 5 feet. Rock fragments of marble ranges from 0 to 25 percent throughout. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
The Ap horizon, has hue of 5YR through IOYR, value of 3 or 4, chroma of 2 through 4. Texture is silt loam, loam, clay loam or silty clay loam n the fine earth fraction.
The BE horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value 4 through 6, chroma 4 through 8. Texture is silt loam, loam or silty clay loam in the fine earth fraction.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 7.5YR, value 3 through 5, chroma 2 through 6. Texture is clay silty clay, clay loam, or silty clay loam in the fine earth fraction.
The C-horizon, has hue of N, or 2.5YR through 1OYR, value 2 through 6, chroma 0 through 6. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, or clay in the fine earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no known soils in the same family. Soils in closely related families are the Atwell, Brooke, Bradyville, Caleast, Chilhowie, Clanton, Dandria, Fleming, Fulshear, Jericho, Markham McAfee and Salvisa series are similar soils in related families. The Atwell soils have vermiculitic mineralogy; Brooke, Caleast, Chilhowie, Fleming, McAfee and Salvisa soils have mixed mineralogy; Bradyville and Fulshear have mixed mineralogy and mean annual temperatures greater than 59 degrees F., and Dandria soils have montmorillonitic mineralogy. Clanton soils lack sandy substrata and has a silt mantle 8 to 15 inches thick. Jericho soils lack hues of 5YR or redder in the solum. Markham soils center on hues of 10YR and have mottling in the lower part of the IIB horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Benevola soils have developed in from residuum from marble. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. The climate is temperate and moderately humid, with a mean annual temperature of 45 to 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation of 35 to 45 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Conestoga, Funkstown, Glenelg, Glenville, Hagerstown, Hyattstown, Linganore, Letort, and Manor Wiltshire soils. Hagerstown soils formed in residuum weather from limestone. Conestoga, Hyattstown, Letort, and Linganore soils are formed in residuum form micaceous calcareous schist and phyllite. Conestoga and Letort are very deep and average less than 35 percent clay throughout. Hyattstown and Linganore soils have bedrock less than 40. Glenelg, Glenville, and Manor soils formed in residuum weathered from micaeous phyllite and schist, average less than 35 percent clay and occupy higher landscape positions. Funkstown formed from local alluvium over limestone residuum, are moderately well drained and average less than 35 percent clay throughout. Wiltshire soils formed from local alluvium and colluvium from phyllite and schist, have a fragipan and are moderately well drained.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate throughout and runoff is medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for general crops and pastures. Native vegetation probable was mixed hardwoods, but little if any woodland remains.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maryland, Pennsylvania and possibly Virginia. (major land resource area 148). The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Maryland, 1940.
REMARKS: Benevola was previously mapped in the sedimentary region of MLRA 147. The concept was changed to cover areas of marble in MLRA 148. This soil was previously mapped as Elioak in Frederick and Howard Counties Maryland. Diagnostic horizons recognized in this pedon are:
a) Mollic epipedon - The zone from 0 to 8 inches (Ap horizon). This soil series meets all the requirements for a mollic epipedon except thickness.
b) Argillic horizon - The zone from 10 to 57 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data can be referenced as S98MD021-132 from the National Cooperative Soil Survey.