LOCATION BLUEWAY FL
Tentative Series
ARW
09/2026
BLUEWAY SERIES
MLRA(s)--152A
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet)
Parent material--Fine-loamy estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Estuarine tidal streams and fluviomarine bottoms
Slope range--0 to 5 percent
Mean annual air temperature--21 degrees C (70 degrees F)
Mean annual water temperature--21 degrees C (70 degrees F)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, hyperthermic Fluic Frasiwassents
TYPICAL PEDON: Blueway clay loam on a fluviomarine bottom under 2.2 meters of freshwater (colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated; electrical conductivity is 1:5 by volume solution mixture unless otherwise stated).
Cseg1--0 to 26 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) clay loam; massive; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; very fluid; few fine roots throughout; 5 percent very fine mixed mica flakes throughout; no sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; leaf litter across soil surface; nonsaline (0.2 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.8), slightly acid (pH 6.4) oxidized pH; clear boundary
Cseg2--26 to 76 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) fine sandy loam; massive; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; very fluid; few very fine roots throughout; 5 percent very fine mixed mica flakes throughout; 1 percent shell fragments; 5 percent wood fragments; no sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderate effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.2 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.7), slightly acid (pH 6.3) oxidized pH; gradual boundary
Cseg3--76 to 118 centimeters; dark gray (5Y 4/1) fine sandy loam; massive; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; moderately fluid; 30 percent very fine mixed mica flakes throughout; 3 percent wood fragments; 3 percent shell fragments; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; 5 percent herbaceous plant fibers; nonsaline (0.1 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.7), neutral (pH 6.8) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary
Cseg4--118 to 162 centimeters; greenish gray (10Y 6/1) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 30 percent very fine mixed mica flakes throughout; 8 percent shell fragments; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderate effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.1 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.1), neutral (pH 6.7) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary
Cseg5--162 to 195 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 5/2) stratified fine sandy loam to clay loam; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 30 percent very fine mixed mica flakes throughout; 1 percent wood fragments; 1 percent shell fragments; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.1 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.7), neutral (pH 7.0) oxidized pH; clear boundary
Cseg6--195 to 219 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) stratified fine sandy loam to clay loam; massive; very sticky, very plastic; moderately fluid; 30 percent very fine mixed mica flakes throughout; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.1 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.8), neutral (pH 7.2) oxidized pH
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Florida; Apalachicola River; approximately 0.4 kilometers (0.2 miles) west by northwest of the divergence of the Apalachicola and St. Marks Rivers, approximately 1.0 kilometer (0.6 miles) east by southeast of the northern terminus of Johnson Slough, and 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) south by southeast of the confluence of the Brothers and Apalachicola Rivers; USGS topographic quadrangle: Jackson River, FL.
Latitude--29.825293
Longitude-- -85.024067
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--from hand-held GPS
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Fluidity class--moderately fluid or very fluid in all horizons between 20 and 50 centimeters
Mica flakes--2 to 30 percent, by volume
Sulfurous odor--None throughout
Soil reaction--Slightly acid to neutral throughout profile (pH 6.1 to 7.3)
Oxidized reaction--Very strongly acid to neutral throughout profile (pH 4.5 to 7.3)
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil to water solution)--Less than 0.6 dS/m throughout profile
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Shell fragments--0 to 10 percent, by volume
Wood fragments--0 to 20 percent, by volume
Sand--25 to 80 percent
Clay--18 to 35 percent
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--15 to 30 kg m-2
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--25 to 60 kg m-2
Cseg horizons:
Hue--10YR, 2.5Y, 5Y, or N
Value--2.5 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--clay, sandy clay, sandy clay loam, clay loam, loam, fine sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or fine sand or their mucky analogs
Organic carbon density--2 to 30 kg m-3
Oaseb horizon (where present and below 50 centimeters):
Hue--7.5YR or 10YR
Value--2 or 2.5
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--Muck
von Post-H7 to H9
Organic carbon density--25 to 50 kg m-3
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape--Coastal Plain
Landform--Freshwater fluviomarine bottoms and estuarine tidal streams
Parent material--Fine-loamy estuarine deposits
Slope--0 to 5 percent
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet) below mean sea level
Water salinity range--0 to 5 parts per thousand
Soil temperature--15 to 25 degrees C (59 to 77 degrees F)
Water temperature--18 to 25 degrees C (63 to 75 degrees F)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the
Lighter and
Wimico soils.
Lighter soils--Are in brackish estuarine tidal streams and have 1:5 electrical conductivity greater than 0.6 dS/m somewhere throughout the top 100 centimeters.
Wimico soils--Are in freshwater lakes, formed in lacustrine deposits, and have a color value, moist, of 3 or less and a color value, dry, of 5 or less throughout the upper 18 centimeters of the mineral soil.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high to high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by freshwater and occasionally brackish water in times of drought.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--The area is used for recreational fishing, boating, and limited residential houseboat anchorages. Blueway soils were historically used for riverine transport of goods. Lower energy Blueway soils are important habitat for crustaceans and juvenile aquatic species.
Typical vegetation--Sub-aquatic vegetation is generally not observed because of continuous, turbid fluvial flow. Some shallow water soils in less turbid environments support tape grass (Vallisneria americana).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Freshwater rivers and sloughs along the Gulf.
Land Resource Regions--T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--152A
Extent--Small
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Special Projects Office
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, Florida, 2026
REMARKS:
Typical Pedon Taxonomic Features:
Fluidity--The zone from 0 to 118 centimeters and 195 to 219 centimeters has a fluidity class of moderately fluid to very fluid.
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface (permanently submerged).
Soil temperature regime--Blueway and Wimico soils straddle the boundary between both thermic and hyperthermic temperature regimes. Both soils would be best interpreted as hyperthermic soils, aligning with the nearby and neighboring landscapes and soils (soil correlation decision Special Projects 2026).
Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition, 2022
Other: The series is named after the Blueway paddling trails in Florida, designed to increase tourism in historic, scenic waterways throughout the state. Blueway soils were previously mapped as water in Florida soil surveys.
NASIS User Site and Pedon ID: S2024FL037035
____________________________________________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.