LOCATION CECIL NC+AL GA SC VA
Established Series
Rev. DTA, RHB, DTA
11/2025
CECIL SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from felsic igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks
Slope: 0 to 25 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 degrees C (59 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1219 millimeters (48 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Cecil sandy loam--forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 20 centimeters (2 to 8 inches) thick)
Bt1--20 to 66 centimeters (8 to 26 inches); red (10R 4/8) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; sticky, plastic; common clay films on faces of peds; few fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--66 to 107 centimeters (26 to 42 inches); red (10R 4/8) clay; few fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; sticky, plastic; common clay films on faces of peds; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 61 to 127 centimeters (24 to 50 inches)
BC--107 to 127 centimeters (42 to 50 inches); red (2.5YR 4/8) clay loam; few distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/8) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches) thick)
C--127 to 203 centimeters (50 to 80 inches); red (2.5YR 4/8) loam saprolite; common medium distinct pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) and common distinct brown (7.5YR 5/4) mottles; massive; very friable; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, North Carolina; about 9.7 miles west of Louisburg on North Carolina Highway 56 to Franklinton, about 4.4 miles south on U.S. Highway 1, about 0.4 mile east on North Carolina Highway 96, about 500 feet north of the road, in a field; USGS Franklinton, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.04
Longitude-- -78.490833
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 102 to greater than 152 centimeters (40 to greater than 60 inches)
Thickness of Bt horizon: 61 to 127 centimeters (24 to 50 inches)
Depth to bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume, in the A horizon and 0 to 10 percent, by volume, in the Bt horizon.
Mica Content: 2 to 20 percent, by volume, in the Bt horizon and 2 to greater than 20 percent in the BC and C horizons
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid, unless limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, chroma of 2 to 8. A horizons with value of 3 are less than 15 centimeters (6 inches) thick.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. Eroded phases are sandy clay loam, or clay loam.
E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
BA or BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy clay loam, loam, or clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 10R or 2.5YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 6 or 8. Hue also ranges to 5YR if evident patterns of mottling are lacking in the Bt and BC horizons. Mottles that are few and random are included.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay loam, clay, or sandy clay and contains less than 30 percent silt.
BC horizon:
Color--hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 or 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Mottles in shades of yellow or brown are few to common in some pedons.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy clay loam, clay loam, or loam.
C horizon:
Color--hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 or 6, chroma of 4 to 8, or is mottled in shades of yellow or brown
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy clay loam, loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam saprolite
COMPETING SERIES:
Appling soils--have a yellow subsoil
Bethlehem soils--have a paralithic contact within 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Georgeville soils--formed in residuum from the Carolina slate belt and have more than 30 percent silt
Herndon soils--have a yellow subsoil, formed in residuum from the Carolina slate belt, and have more than 30 percent silt
Madison soils--contain many mica flakes
Nanford soils--have a yellow subsoil, formed in residuum from the Carolina slate belt, have more than 30 percent silt, and have a paralithic contact within 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Nankin soils--formed from marine sediments in the coastal plain
Pacolet soils--have a thinner Bt horizon
Saw soils--have a lithic contact within 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Tarrus soils--formed in residuum from the Carolina slate belt and have more than 30 percent silt
Wedowee soils--have a yellow subsoil and have a thinner Bt horizon
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from felsic igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 14 to 18 degrees C (57 to 65 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1143 to 1397 millimeters (45 to 55 inches)
Frost Free Period: 175 to 200 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Beltline soils--are fine-loamy and formed in human-transported materials
Cataula soils--have a perched water table at 61 to 122 centimeters (24 to 48 inches)
Chavis soils--are fine-loamy and formed in human-transported materials
Chestatee soils--are yellow in color, have stones throughout the solum, and have a solum less than 102 centimeters (40 inches) thick
Cullen soils--have more clay in the subsoil
Durham soils--are yellow in color and are fine-loamy
Hard Labor soils--are yellow in color and have a perched water table at 76 to 152 centimeters (30 to 60 inches)
Helena soils--are yellow in color, have a perched water table at 46 to 76 centimeters (18 to 30 inches), and have mixed mineralogy
Hulett soils--are yellow in color and contain many mica flakes
Lloyd soils--are rhodic in color
Lockhart soils--are yellow in color and have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section
Louisburg soils--are yellow in color and are coarse-loamy
Mecklenburg soils--have mixed mineralogy and formed in mafic diabase parent material
Rion soils--are yellow in color and are fine-loamy
Rolesville soils--are yellow in color, have a sandy subsoil, and have a lithic contact within 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Vance soils--have mixed mineralogy
Wateree soils--are coarse-loamy and have a paralithic contact within 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Worsham soils--are poorly drained and are around the heads of drains
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland or pasture and woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, tobacco, soybeans, cotton, and small grains. Where wooded--loblolly pine, Virginia pine, red oak, white oak, post oak, hickory, blackgum, maple, and dogwood.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia
Extent: Large
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cecil County, Maryland; 1899.
REMARKS:
The June 1988 revision changed the classification to Typic Kanhapludults and recognized the low activity clay properties of this soil as defined in the Low Activity Clay Amendment to Soil Taxonomy, August 1986. The December 2005 revision changed the type location from Catawba County, North Carolina to a more representative location. The May 2006 revision changed language in competing series for Wedowee. The November 2025 revision changed the format. No data was changed.
REVISED--09/1997, RLV; 12/2005, DTA; 05/2006, RHB; 11/2025, DTA
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) (Ap horizon)
Argillic and kandic horizon--the zone from 20 to 107 centimeters (8 to 42 inches) has low activity clay in more than 50 percent of the horizon (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA: McCracken, R. J., editor: Southern Cooperative Series Bulletin 61, issued January, 1959, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Blacksburg, Virginia. Soil Survey of Catawba County, North Carolina, issued 1975. Soil Survey of Forsyth County, North Carolina, issued 1976.
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0018 CECIL 0-25 57-65 175-200 45-55 200-900
NC0268 CECIL 0-25 57-65 175-200 44-55 200-900
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NC0018 NONE >6.0 - - >60
NC0268 NONE >6.0 - - >60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
NC0018 0-8 SL FSL L 0-5 80-100 5-20 1-5
NC0018 0-8 GR-SL GR-L GR-FSL 5-15 55-85 5-20 1-5
NC0018 0-8 SCL CL 0-5 75-100 20-35 5-10
NC0018 8-50 C CL 0-5 92-100 35-70 3-12
NC0018 50-80 VAR - - - -
NC0268 0-8 GR-SCL GR-CL 0-10 60-85 20-35 5-10
NC0268 8-50 C CL 0-5 90-100 35-70 3-12
NC0268 50-80 VAR - - - -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
NC0018 0-8 4.5-6.5 0.5-1.0 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
NC0018 0-8 4.5-6.5 0.5-1.0 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
NC0018 0-8 4.5-6.5 0.5-1.0 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0018 8-50 4.5-5.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0018 50-80 - - - - -
NC0268 0-8 4.5-6.0 0.5-1.0 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0268 8-50 4.5-5.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0268 50-80 - - - - -
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.