LOCATION CLIFFIELD NCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, subactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Cliffield cobbly loam on a 16 percent convex ridge crest at 2,400 feet in elevation--forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--0 to 2 inches; slightly decomposed deciduous and coniferous litter.
A1--2 to 4 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) cobbly loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; 15 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles by volume; fragments are randomly oriented; common fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 5 inches thick)
A2--4 to 6 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) cobbly loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; 15 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles by volume; fragments are randomly oriented; common fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt1--6 to 18 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) very cobbly clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; 20 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and 10 percent stones by volume; fragments are randomly oriented; common fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--18 to 35 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) extremely cobbly loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; 30 percent stones, 20 percent gravel, and 20 percent cobbles by volume; fragments are horizontally oriented; common fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 12 to 34 inches.)
R--35 inches; hard, fractured sillimanite schist bedrock; few vertical and common horizontal fractures that decrease with depth; few tongues and thin coatings of Bt horizon material in fractures; few fine and medium roots in fractures; 10 percent thin, soft, partly consolidated bedrock interlayers.
TYPE LOCATION: Polk County, North Carolina; about 2.6 miles west of Tryon on Secondary Road 1116; 0.4 mile north on subdivision access road; 150 feet north of road on a wooded ridge crest.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to a lithic contact and fractured hard bedrock range from 20 to 40 inches. Bedrock fractures decrease with depth. Rock fragment content ranges from 15 to 70 percent by volume throughout and averages more than 35 percent by volume in the Bt horizon. Fragments are dominantly gravel, cobbles, or stones, with occasional boulders. Reaction is extremely acid to strongly acid. Content of flakes of mica ranges from few to common.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. It is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
In some pedons there is an E horizon that has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 or 6. It has the same textures as the A horizon.
In some pedons, there is a BA or BE horizon that has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. Texture is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine earth fraction.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. It is loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
In some pedons, there is a thin C horizon that is saprolite and is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand or loamy sand in the fine earth fraction. It has colors similar to the Bt horizon or is multicolored.
In some pedons, there is a thin Cr horizon of multicolored, soft bedrock that is partially consolidated but can be dug with hand tools with difficulty.
The R horizon is hard, fractured high-grade metamorphic rock such as sillimanite schist, garnet-mica schist, and quartz-mica schist bedrock. It has occasional thin, soft, partly consolidated bedrock interlayers. Vertical and horizontal fractures are filled or thinly coated with fine earth. The R horizon is consolidated and rippable with heavy equipment but can not be dug with hand tools.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bendavis, Blackthorn, Croom, Elliber, Gainesboro, Hartleton, Irondale, Lew, Macove, Mertz, Pattenburg, Trevlac, and Weaverton series. Except for Gainesboro, Irondale, and Trevlac, these soils are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock. In addition, the Weaverton series is the only one of these on similar landscapes that forms from similar parent material. Gainesboro soils have an R horizon in sedimentary rock such as shale, sandstone, or siltstone, and contain fragments of those rocks. Irondale soils have an R horizon in fine-grained igneous rock composed mostly of rhyolites and felsites and contain fragments of those rocks. Trevlac soils have a Cr horizon in sedimentary rock such as shale, sandstone, or siltstone, contain fragments of those rocks, and lack an R horizon within depths of 20 to 40 inches.
Note: Completing series have not been updated since most of these will also require reclassification using the 7th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy (1996).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cliffield soils are on narrow, prominent ridge crests and upper side slopes in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Slopes commonly are 8 to 30 percent but range from 8 to 95 percent. Elevation ranges from about 1,000 to 3,500 feet. Cliffield soils formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and are weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks such as sillimanite schist, garnet-mica schist, and quartz-mica schist. These rocks commonly contain minor mixtures of biotite gneiss, hornblende gneiss, amphibolite, phyllite, and quartzite. Estimated mean annual temperature ranges from about 52 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 50 to 65 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Ashe, Cleveland, Cowee, Evard, Fannin, Greenlee, Ostin, Tate, and Saluda soils. Except for Greenlee soils, none of these soils are in a loamy-skeletal family. Ostin soils are in a sandy-skeletal family. Ashe and Cleveland soils have a cambic horizon and R horizons in dominantly granite or gneiss. Cowee soils are moderately deep and Saluda soils are shallow to a Cr horizon. Evard, Fannin, and Tate soils are very deep to bedrock. Greenlee soils have a cambic horizon and C horizons in colluvial material. Ashe and Cleveland soils are on adjacent very steep side slopes associated with gneiss rock outcrops. Cowee, Evard, Fannin, and Saluda soils are on nearby lower ridges and side slopes underlain by rocks less resistant to weathering. Greenlee and Tate soils are on toe slopes, benches, and fans in coves. Ostin soils are on narrow flood plains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability. Runoff class is high on strong or moderately steep slopes and very high on steeper slopes. Runoff is lower where forest litter has not been disturbed.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested with chestnut oak, scarlet oak, red maple, black locust, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, pitch pine, white oak, black oak, northern red oak, and hickory. Common understory plants are sassafras, sourwood, flowering dogwood, mountain laurel, blueberry, flame azalea, pinxter-flower, blackgum, and galax. A small acreage is in homesites and orchards.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Carolina, and possibly Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Polk County, North Carolina; 1992. The name is from Cliffield Mountain in Polk County.
REMARKS: Cliffield soils were formerly included in the Talledega series. However, Talledega soils have discontinuous argillic horizons and are underlain at depths of 10 to 40 inches by lower grade metamorphic rock such as phyllite, slate, and argillite.
The 12/97 revision places this soil in a loamy-skeletal, mixed, subactive, mesic Typic Hapludults family per 7th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy (1996). CEC activity class placement is based on the following sample pedons: S89-NC-149-004, -005 and 006, and S91-NC-171-001. Two pedons are in subactive families, one is in a semiactive family, and one classifies as a Typic Kanhapludult. Horizon depths and runoff class were also revised.
Diagnostic features and horizons recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric Epipedon - The zone from 0 to 6 inches (Oi, A and E horizons).
Argillic Horizon - The zone from 6 to 35 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Loamy-skeletal feature - average content of more than 35 percent rock fragments by volume in the 6 to 26 inch control section (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
Lithic Contact - The occurrence of hard bedrock at 35 inches (the upper boundary of the R horizon).
MLRA-130; SIR: NC0252
Revised: 9/95-SCK,STE,AG; 12/97-DHK, 2/99-MKC