LOCATION COLYER                  KY+IN OH

Established Series
Rev. JMR
03/2022

COLYER SERIES

The Colyer series consists of shallow, well drained, slowly permeable soils formed in clayey residuum of weathered, black, highly fissile, bituminous shale. These sloping to very steep soils are on uplands. Slopes range from 6 to 60 percent. The mean annual temperature is 57 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation is about 46 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, mixed, semiactive, mesic Lithic Dystrudepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Colyer shaly silty clay loam on a 25 percent convex south facing hillside, forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oe--0 to 1 inch; black (10YR 2/1) decomposed litter.

A--1 to 2 inch; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) shaly silty clay
loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many roots; 15 percent shale fragments, reddish brown on fresh broken surface; very strongly acid, abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)

AB--2 to 5 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) shaly silty clay loam;moderate fine granular structure; friable, many roots; 20 percent black shale fragments; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)

Bw--5 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) shaly silty clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; sticky and slightly plastic; common roots; few shiny pressure faces on peds; 45 percent black shale fragments; extremely acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)

C--10 to 15 inches; mottled brown (7.5YR 4/4) and yellowish red (5YR 4/6) very shaly silty clay; massive and relict shale structure; firm; 80 percent black shale fragments, dark reddish on broken surface; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

R--15 inches; black (5YR 2/1) highly fissile hard black shale.

TYPE LOCATION: Clark County, Kentucky; about 10 miles east-southeast of Winchester, 1970 feet north of Indian Fields P. O., then east 1640 feet to road junction, then 2625 feet on left fork, then 75 feet to right of road.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock and solum thickness range from 8 to 20 inches. Reaction ranges from extremely acid through medium acid in the A horizon and from very strongly acid to extremely acid in the B and C horizon.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5YR, value of 2 to 4,and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam and their channery and very channery modifiers. Rock fragments range from 5 to 40 percent.

The AB horizons has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam and their channery, very channery and extremely channery modifiers. Shale fragments range from 10 to 65 percent.

The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 or 6, and some pedons have mottles in shades of red, brown, and yellow. Texture of the fine-earth is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay and their very channery and extremely channery modifiers. Shale fragments range from 35 to 65 percent.

The C horizon has colors like those of the Bw horizon and some pedons also have mottles in shades of gray or olive. Texture of the fine-earth is silty clay, clay, or silty clay loam and their very channery and extremely modifiers. Shale fragments range from 35 to 90 percent.

The R horizon is hard fissile shale.

COMPETING SERIES: This is the only member of this family. In closely related families are the Gilpin, Litz, Rohan, and Weikert series. Gilpin soils have argillic horizons with less than 35 percent clay, less than 35 percent coarse fragments, and are 20 to 40 inches to bedrock. Litz soils have shaly or very shaly silt loam B horizons and bedrock exceeds a depth of 20 inches and averages about 35 inches. Rohan soils have less than 35 percent coarse fragments. Weikert soils have shaly, very shaly, channery, or very channery silt loam B horizons.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sloping to very steep upland areas with slopes of about 6 to 60 percent. The regolith is clayey residuum from black, highly fissile, bituminous shales. Mean annual temperature ranges from 47 degrees to 57 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 49 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Rockcastle series and the Muse, Shrouts, Tilsit, and Trappist series. Muse, Shrouts, and Trappist soils have argillic horizons, and are more than 20 inches to bedrock. Tilsit soils have fragipans.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained, runoff is rapid. Permeability is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in forest or pasture. Many cleared areas have become idle and are reverting to forest. The native forests have oak, red and sugar maple, hickory, ash, gum,
dogwood, beech, and Virginia and shortleaf pine as the dominant species.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Colyer soils are extensive in the Knobs and Eastern Pennyroyal regions of Kentucky, and in southern Indiana, and southern Ohio. Extent is large.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Centre County, Pennsylvania, 1908.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon, 1 to 5 inches, (A, AB)
Cambric horizon, 5 to 10 inches, (BW)
Lithic contact at 15 inches.

03/2022 This layer was removed from the typical pedon description because /freshly fallen, or undecomposed leaf litter or simlar undeceomposed material should not be included as a surface layer in the soil description. The typical pedon originally had a top layer described as undecomposed leaf material or similar undecomposed material. Oe had 1 to 0 inch depths, corrected to be 0 to 1 in horizon depths then added 1 inch to all horizon depths throughout the typical pedon. WJN

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.