LOCATION ELBERT VA

Established Series
Rev. ACB,RRD
02/2022

ELBERT SERIES

Soils of the Elbert series are deep and poorly drained with slow to very slow permeability. They formed in local alluvium over residuum of greenstone, diorite, hornblende, gneiss, and other basic dark colored rocks. These soils are on upland flats, in depressions, and along drainageways. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F and mean annual precipitation is about 42 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Typic Endoaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Elbert silt loam - in a mixed hardwood forest. (Colors are for moist soil.)

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

A--1 to 3 inches; gray (5Y 5/1) silt loam; few medium distinct; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; slightly sticky; many fine medium and coarse roots; few, medium, distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) soft masses of iron accumulation; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

Eg--3 to 6 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; few, fine, faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) soft masses of iron accumulation; few, fine, faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) redoximorphic depletions; friable; slightly sticky; common fine medium and large roots; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

BEg--6 to 12 inches; light gray to gray (10YR 6/1) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly plastic, slightly sticky; common fine roots; common, fine, distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) soft masses of iron accumulation; common, continuous gray silt coatings on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick)

Btgl--12 to 22 inches; dark gray (5Y 4/1) clay; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to coarse angular blocky; very firm; sticky, plastic; few fine roots; common, fine, distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) soft masses of iron accumulation; gray silt coatings on faces of peds; thin clay films; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg2--22 to 31 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) clay; coarse prismatic structure parting to coarse angular blocky, massive when wet; very firm, very plastic, sticky; few fine roots; common, medium, distinct olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) and olive (5Y 4/3) soft masses of iron accumulation; thin clay films on faces of peds; slickensides on faces of peds, more evident on horizontal; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Btg3--31 to 42 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay; coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse angular blocky, massive when wet; firm; sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; few, fine, faint light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) soft masses of iron accumulation; few, fine, distinct gray (N 6/0) redoximorphic depletions; thin films of clay; few fine light gray feldspar crystals; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg is 25 to 40 inches)

BCg--42 to 48 inches; dark gray (5Y 4/1) sandy clay; massive; firm; plastic, sticky; few fine roots; common light gray feldspar crystals; slightly acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)

Cg--48 to 53 inches; olive gray (5Y 5/2) sandy clay; massive; firm; plastic, sticky; few, fine, distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) soft masses of iron accumulation; common old root channels filled with clay; few light gray feldspar crystals; 2 percent quartz gravel; neutral; abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)

2C--53 to 59 inches; variegated light olive brown, (2.5Y 5/4), light gray (N 7/0), and olive (5Y 4/3) gravelly sandy loam; highly weathered rock easily crushed to sandy loam; rock controlled structure; very friable; 30 percent rounded quartz gravel; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 16 inches thick)

Cr--59 to 64 inches; variegated light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4), light gray (N 7/0), and olive (5Y 4/3) weathered rock easily crushed to sandy loam; rock controlled structure; firm in place, very friable when dug out; olive gray (5Y 5/2) clay flows 2 mm thick in rock crevices; few dark gray (10YR 4/1) krotovinas 1 to 3 cm in diameter; old root channels filled with clay; few feldspar crystals; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Louisa County, Virginia; on east side of Highway 638, 0.8 mile south of junction of Highway 22.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to 50 inches or more. Depth to bedrock ranges from 40 to 60 inches. Content of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 3 percent by volume in the control section and 0 to 30 percent in the C horizon. These consist of black or brown iron and manganese concretions and feldspar fragments. The soil ranges from moderately acid through neutral, unless limed.

The A and E horizons have hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Mottles are also neutral and include chroma of 4. The A and E horizons are silt loam, loam, or silty clay loam.

The BE horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 6 or 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is mottled with high chroma mottles. It is silt loam, loam, or silty clay loam.

The Btg horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 0 through 2. It is mottled with high chroma mottles. The Bt horizon is silty clay loam or clay. Slickensides are on horizontal faces of peds in some pedons.

The BCg horizon has hue of 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is mottled with high chroma mottles. The BC horizon is sandy clay, clay loam, or clay.

The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5, and chroma of 2 or is mottled with colors in shades of gray, brown, and olive. It is sandy clay loam or sandy loam, or less commonly sandy clay or clay.

The Cr horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5, and chroma of 2, it is neutral, or it is mottled in shades of gray, brown, and olive. It is weathered bedrock that crushes to sandy loam or sandy clay loam.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Concord, Kampville, Sexton, Traer, and Weir soils. Concord soils have a solum less than 40 inches thick. Kampville soils formed in alluvium and do not have rock fragments. Sexton, Traer and Weir soils are more than 60 inches to bedrock and do not have rock fragments.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Elbert soils are on nearly level to gently sloping upland flats, depressions, and drainageways with slope gradients mostly between 0 to 5 percent. Drainageways are subject to frequent, extremely brief, flash flooding events with little or no deposition or erosion. They formed in local alluvium over residuum. The regolith is clayey residuum from dark colored basic rocks such as greenstone, diorite, hornblende, gneiss, dacite, or local colluvium of similar origin. Mean annual temperature ranges from about 53 degrees to 59 degrees F and the mean annual precipitation ranges from about 35 to 45 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Montalto, Bremo, Mecklenburg and Zion soils. The Bremo, Mecklenburg, Montalto, and Zion soils are well drained.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained, slow runoff; slow to very slow permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: A large proportion is in forest. Cleared areas are used primarily for pasture and hay grasses. Vegetation consists of willow, blackjack, post, and pin oaks; red maple, hickory, red cedar, and pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Virginia; possibly Maryland and North Carolina.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Culpeper County, Virginia, 1943.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 1 to 12 inches (A, Eg, and BEg horizons).
b. Albic horizon - the zone from 3 to 6 inches Eg horizon).
c. Argillic horizon - the zone from 12 to 42 inches (the Btg horizons). d. Paralithic contact - at 59 inches.
e. Aquic moisture regime.

02/2005 added statement about frequent, extremely brief, flash flooding in the geographic setting.

2/2022 Oi 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. This layer was removed from the typical pedon description because freshly fallen, or undecomposed leaf litter or similar undecomposed material should not be included as a layer in a soil description.

2/2022 revision: 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

SIR=VA0052
MLRA=148
REVISED=9/97, RRD

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.