LOCATION DRY BAR FL
Tentative Series
ARW
09/2026
DRY BAR SERIES
MLRA(s)--152A
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet)
Parent material--Sandy-skeletal lagoonal deposits
Geomorphic location--Shoals and reefs
Slope range--0 to 1 percent
Mean annual air temperature--21 degrees C (70 degrees F)
Mean annual water temperature--24 degrees C (75 degrees F)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, siliceous, hyperthermic Typic Fluviwassents
TYPICAL PEDON: Dry Bar very shelly loamy sand on a shoal under 1.6 meters of salt water (colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated; electrical conductivity is 1:5 by volume solution mixture unless otherwise stated).
Cseg1--0 to 28 centimeters; 50 percent dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) and 50 percent very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) very shelly loamy sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 40 percent shell fragments; slight sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderate effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (2.0 dS/m); moderately alkaline (pH 8.3), strongly alkaline (pH 8.5) oxidized pH; clear boundary
Cseg2--28 to 114 centimeters; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) very shelly loamy sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 50 percent shell fragments; slight sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (2.9 dS/m); moderately alkaline (pH 8.4), strongly alkaline (pH 8.5) oxidized pH; clear boundary
Cseg3--114 to 200 centimeters; gray (2.5Y 5/1) loamy fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 8 percent shell fragments; slight sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; saline (2.8 dS/m); moderately alkaline (pH 8.3), strongly alkaline (pH 8.6) oxidized pH
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Florida; Apalachicola Bay; approximately 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) north of the intersection of Akel Street and Marks Street, approximately 7.6 kilometers (4.7 miles) south of the intersection of South Bay Shore Drive and Highway 98, and 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) west of the terminus of Austin Street on St. George Island; USGS topographic quadrangle: Apalachicola, FL.
Latitude--29.667660
Longitude-- -84.885560
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--From hand-held GPS
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Fluidity class--Nonfluid in all horizons between 20 and 50 centimeters
Sulfurous odor--None to slight throughout
Soil reaction--Slightly alkaline to strongly alkaline throughout profile (pH 7.4 to 9.0)
Oxidized reaction--Neutral to strongly alkaline throughout profile (pH 6.6 to 9.0)
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil to water solution)--2.0 to 4.5 dS/m throughout profile
Particle-size control section (weighted average):
Shell fragments--35 to 90 percent, by volume
Sand--80 to 95 percent
Clay--3 to 9 percent
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--10 to 20 kg m-2
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--15 to 30 kg m-2
Cseg or Cg (where present) horizons:
Hue--10YR to 5GY
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy find sand, coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, or shells and their shelly, very shelly, and extremely shelly analogs.
Organic carbon density--3 to 15 kg m-3
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series in this family
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape--Bays and lagoons along the Gulf Coast
Landform--Shoals and reefs
Parent material--Sandy-skeletal lagoonal deposits
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet) below mean sea level
Water salinity range--20 to 35 parts per thousand
Soil temperature--16 to 31 degrees C (61 to 88 degrees F)
Water temperature--18 to 28 degrees C (64 to 82 degrees F)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the
Amtrac,
Apalachicola,
Eastpoint,
Lighthouse,
Pelican Reef,
Sheepshead, and Thalincetes soils.
Amtrac soils--Formed on high-energy lagoon bottoms and barrier coves from coarse-loamy lagoonal deposits.
Apalachicola soils--Formed on bay and lagoon bottoms from fine-loamy lagoonal deposits.
Eastpoint soils--Formed on submerged wave-cut platforms from sandy lagoonal deposits.
Lighthouse soils--Formed on shoals and reefs from loamy-skeletal lagoonal deposits.
Pelican Reef soils--Formed on relict flood-tidal deltas from sandy lagoonal deposits.
Sheepshead soils--Formed on barrier coves from sandy and loamy lagoonal deposits.
Thalinectes soils--Formed on longshore bars and washover-fans from sandy lagoonal deposits.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--High to very high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by brackish or salt water
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Commercial uses include production and harvesting Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Recreational uses include oyster harvesting and fishing.
Typical vegetation--Vegetation is rarely observed on Dry Bar soils due to the prevalence of active and inactive oyster shell beds occurring on the surface.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Brackish and saltwater shoals and reefs along the Gulf.
Land Resource Regions--T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--152A
Extent--Moderate
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Special Projects Office
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, Florida, 2026
REMARKS:
Typical Pedon Taxonomic Features:
Reduced matrix--The zone from 0 to 200 centimeters has a soil color matrix with a chroma of 2 or less.
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface (permanently submerged).
Taxonomic Version: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition, 2022
Other: The series is named after Dry Bar, a historic oyster reef on the east side of St. Vincent Island, where first observed. Dry Bar soils were previously mapped as water in Florida soil survey publications.
NASIS User Site and Pedon ID: 2024FL037057. Additional support pedons to develop this series include 2025FL037005 and S2024FL037069.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.