LOCATION EBBING VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Ebbing loam -- on a south-facing slope of 3 percent in a fescue and white clover pasture. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap-- 0 to 14 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loam; weak fine granular structure; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many medium roots; few medium pores; 2 percent cobbles; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (The thickness of the Ap horizon is 6 to 18 inches.)
Bt1-- 14 to 27 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few medium roots; many medium and few coarse pores; few faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2-- 27 to 45 inches; variegated reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) and brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) loam; many fine distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) iron depletions; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; 2 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combine thickness of the Bt horizon is 22 to 42 inches.)
Cg-- 45 to 65 inches; light gray (N 7/0) loam; many medium prominent reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) iron stains in the matrix; massive; friable, slightly sticky and slight plastic; few fine roots; 6 percent gravel; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Virginia; about 0.38 miles northeast of the intersection of VA-731 and VA-714, and 1.4 miles southeast of the intersection of VA-91 and VA-731. Elevation, 1,880 feet.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches or more. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Rounded gravel and cobbles of sandstone, chert, and quartzite range from 0 to 15 percent in the A horizon, and 0 to 35 percent in the B horizon, and 5 to 50 percent in the C horizon. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral throughout, unless limed.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 8. It is commonly mottled in shades of gray, brown, and red. The Bt is loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8 and chroma of 3 to 8. It is loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Cg horizon (here intended to include a C horizon where present) is neutral or has a hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8 and chroma of 0 to 8. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, clay loam, silty clay loam and silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Athol, Bolton, Bookwood, Brecknock, Carpenter, Cateache, Culleoka, Door, Dormont, Duffield, Dumfries, Frondorf, Grayford, Greencreek (Tentative), Hayter, Lamotte, Legore, Loudonville, Manassas, Mechanicsburg, Morrison, Myersville, Neshaminy, Oatlands, Panorama, Penn, Ryder, Spriggs, Sudley, Washington, Weedmark (Tentative), Westmoreland, Wheeling, and Williamsburg series in the same family. Athol and Manassas soils have Bt horizons with hues redder than 7.5YR. The Bookwood, Culleoka, Frondorf, Loudonville and Spriggs soils have bedrock at a depth of 20 to 40 inches. The Brecknock, Dumfries, Legore, Myersville, and Westmoreland soils have solum thickness less than 40 inches. The Legore soils, in addition, have saprolite in the series control section. The Cataeche, Oatlands, Penn and Ryder soils have Bt horizons redder than 7.5YR and depth to bedrock less than 40 inches. The Door soils contain shale fragments and are dry for longer periods of time. The Dormont soils are weathered from non-acid shale and siltstones and contain more silt in the Bt horizon. The Duffield soils have clay minerals dominated by illite and vermiculite. The Greencreek and Weedmark soils are dry for longer periods and have a cooler soil temperature. The Lamotte soils have hues redder than 7.5YR in the Bt horizons. Mechanicburg soils have mixed rock fragments from glaciers and have cooler soil temperature. The Morrison and Sudley soils do not have (water) rounded coarse fragments in the particle size control section. The Panorama soils have redder hues in the Bt horizons and paralithic contact within 60 inches. Washington soils have angular fragments of chert, quartz, and gneiss in the solum. The Bolton, Carpenter, Grayford, Hayter, Neshaminy and Wheeling soils do not have low chroma mottles in the argillic horizon. Williamburg soils has a solum greater than 60 inches and a silty mantle from loess 12 to 24 inches thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ebbing soils are on low stream terraces along major streams and rivers subject to rare flooding. Slope gradients are most commonly 2 to 7 percent slopes, but range from 0 to 15 percent. The soils formed in alluvial materials from limestone, sandstone, siltstone, shale, and quartzite of Cambrian, Ordivician, Silurian, and Devonian ages in the Southern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys MLRA. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 38 to 48 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 54 to 57 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Frederick, Marbie, Mongle (proposed), Shottower, Sindion, Speedwell, Weikert, Wheeling, and Wyrick. Frederick and Shottower soils have more clay in the subsoil, are well drained, and are on uplands. Marbie soils have a fragipan and are on colluvial benches. Wyrick soils are well drained and are on colluvial benches. Mongle (proposed) soils are wetter and are on similar landscapes. Wheeling soils are well drained and are on similar landscapes. Sindion and Speedwell soils have a mollic epipedon and are on floodplains. Weikert soils are shallow to shale bedrock and are on uplands.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Runoff is very slow to medium. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are used for row crops, hay, and pasture. A few areas are in woodland consisting of White oak, Yellow poplar, and Virginia pines.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Virginia and possibly West Virginia, and Tennessee in MLRA 128. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Virginia, 1989.
REMARKS: Ebbing soils have been included in the Cotaco series in the past.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon, the part from 0 to 14 inches. (Ap horizon)
b. Argillic horizon, the part from 14 to 45 inches. (Bt horizon)
c. Redox depletions of chroma 2 or less. (Bt2 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. (PSA, chemistry, and mineralogy)