LOCATION DELILA                  VA+NC

Established Series
DHE-HLG-JCN/Rev. JAK-DTA/DTA
09/2025

DELILA SERIES

MLRA(s): 136 (mesic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Poorly drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Shallow, common
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: Rare or occasional for brief periods
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately low
Shrink-Swell Potential: Moderate
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Ridges, swales
Geomorphic Component: Interfluves
Hillslope Profile Position: Toeslopes
Parent Material: Local alluvium weathered from felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks
Slope: 0 to 4 percent
Elevation (type location): 152 meters (500 feet)
Frost Free Period: 190 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 14 degrees C (57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1067 millimeters (42 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Typic Endoaquults

TYPICAL PEDON: Delila sandy loam, 0 to 4 percent slopes, in planted loblolly pine. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)

A--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches), grayish brown (10YR 5/2) sandy loam; moderate fine and medium granular structure; very friable; non-sticky; non-plastic; common very fine, fine, and medium roots; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 25 centimeters (4 to 10 inches) thick)

Btg1--20 to 53 centimeters (8 to 21 inches), gray (10YR 6/1) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very firm; moderately sticky; moderately plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) soft masses of iron accumulation; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Btg2--53 to 96 centimeters (21 to 38 inches), gray (10YR 6/1) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; very firm, moderately sticky; moderately plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common fine prominent yellowish brown 10YR 5/8) soft masses of iron accumulation; common very fine and fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 51 to 127 centimeters (20 to 50 inches.)

Cg--96 to 165 centimeters (38 to 65 inches), gray (10YR 6/1) sandy loam; massive; very friable, non-sticky, non-plastic; few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) soft masses of iron accumulation; common very fine and fine flakes of mica; strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Halifax County, Virginia; about 5,000 feet north of the intersection of State Routes 658 and 692; near Delila in planted loblolly pine; USGS Oak Level, Virginia topographic quadrangle.

Latitude--36.644722
Longitude-- -79.065556
Datum--WGS84

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of Argillic horizon: 10 to 25 centimeters (4 to 10 inches)
Depth to base of Argillic horizon: Greater than 76 centimeters (30 inches)
Thickness of clayey part of Argillic horizon: 51 centimeters (20 inches) or more
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches), November to May
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 15 percent, by volume, throughout
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume, mica flakes in the B and C horizons
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout, unless limed
Other features: Linear extensibility percentage (LEP) of the heaviest textured subsurface horizon is 3 to 6 (moderate shrink-swell potential).

RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 2 to 6, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 3 to 7
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray

Eg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 3 to 7
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray

Btg horizons:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 or 6, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture--sandy clay, clay, or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray

BCg horizon or BCtg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray

Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture--sandy loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray

COMPETING SERIES:
Armagh soils--formed in residuum weathered from acid gray shale; on ridges and benches primarily in the Appalachian Plateau of western Pennsylvania and western Maryland
Kinkora soils--formed in old, clayey alluvial sediments derived from mixed crystalline rock; on terraces in the northern Piedmont Plateau
Purdy soils--formed in old, clayey alluvial sediments derived from mixed sedimentary rocks; on terraces primarily in the Ridge and Valley province
Lenni soils--formed in clayey eolian deposits underlain by sandy (fluviomarine) deposits; on broad interstream divides, and in shallow depressions primarily in the northern Coastal Plain

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Ridges and swales
Hillslope Profile Position: Toeslopes
Geomorphic Component: Interfluves
Parent Material: Local alluvium weathered from felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks
Elevation: 107 to 305 meters (350 to 1,000 feet)
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C (52 to 57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 102 to 127 centimeters (40 to 50 inches)
Frost Free Period: 165 to 200 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Clifford soils--formed in residuum form felsic crystalline rocks, have a red subsoil, and have a seasonal high water table at a depth of more than 183 centimeters (72 inches) (well drained); on higher lying landforms
Fairview soils--formed in residuum form felsic crystalline rocks, have a re4d subsoil, and have a seasonal high water table at a depth of more than 183 centimeters (72 inches) (well drained); on higher lying landforms
Halifax soils--formed in residuum weathered from a mixture of felsic, intermediate, or mafic igneous or high-grade metamorphic rocks and have a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of 46 to 76 centimeters (18 to 30 inches) (moderately well drained); on higher lying landforms
Jackland soils--formed in residuum weathered from diabase and basalt, have very high shrink-swell potential, and are moderately well to somewhat poorly drained; on higher lying landforms
Nathalie soils--formed in residuum form felsic crystalline rocks and have a seasonal high water table at a depth of more than 183 centimeters (72 inches) (well drained); on higher lying landforms
Orange soils--formed in residuum from basic rocks or mixed acid and basic, are 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches) to paralithic contact, have high shrink-swell potential, and have a seasonal high water table at a depth of 30 to 91 centimeters (12 to 36 inches) (moderately well to somewhat poorly drained); on higher lying Piedmont uplands
Rasalo soils--formed in residuum from hornblende gneiss, gabbro, or other mafic rock, have high shrink-swell potential, and have a seasonal high water table greater than 183 centimeters (72 inches) (well drained); on higher lying Piedmont uplands
Toast soils--formed in residuum form felsic crystalline rocks and have a seasonal high water table at a depth of more than 183 centimeters (72 inches) (well drained); on higher lying landforms
Turbeville soils--formed in old alluvial/colluvial soils and have a seasonal high water table greater than 183 centimeters (72 inches) (well drained); on higher lying Piedmont uplands

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Agricultural Drainage class: Poorly drained
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Shallow, common
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately low

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Idle land and pasture
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded--sweetgum and loblolly pine

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia and North Carolina
Extent: Small

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Halifax County, Virginia, 2004.

REMARKS: Delila soils were previously mapped as Worsham soils. The creation of a mesic region within the southern Piedmont necessitated a new series be established as a counterpart to the Worsham series.
The September 2025 revision reformatted the description. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) (Ap horizon)
Aquic conditions--periodic saturation and reduction in a zone from 25 to 152 centimeters (10 to 60 inches) at some time during the year.
Argillic horizon--the zone from 20 to 96 centimeters (8 to 38 inches) ( Btg horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory Data: No laboratory data available.
Database Information: Typical Pedon Data mapunit ID-422831
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.