LOCATION ELA NC+TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, superactive, acid, mesic Fluvaquentic Humaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Ela silt loam, 0 to 2 percent slopes, occasionally flooded, elevation 2,600 feet, in a woodland (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oe--0 to 1 inch; moderately decomposed leaves, twigs, and live roots; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--1 to 16 inches; black (10YR 2/1) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots throughout; about 1 percent aerial coverage of fine mica flakes; 5 percent well rounded gravel and 5 percent cobbles by volume; extremely acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 10 to 23 inches thick)
Cg--16 to 32 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; massive; friable; few very fine and fine and roots throughout; common fine prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) irregularly shaped soft masses of iron accumulation throughout the matrix, and few fine distinct light gray (10YR 7/1) cylindrical iron depletions along root channels; about 1 percent aerial coverage of fine mica flakes; 5 percent well rounded gravel and 5 percent cobbles by volume; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
2Cg--32 to 61 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) extremely cobbly sandy loam; massive; very friable; about 1 percent aerial coverage of fine mica flakes; 10 percent stones, 30 percent well-rounded cobbles and 35 percent well-rounded gravel by volume; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Graham County, North Carolina; approximately 7.5 miles SE of Robbinsville on US Highway 129 to SR 1200; 2000 feet on SR 1200 to DOT maintenance road; 2300 feet on road, 300 feet NW in woods; USGS Hewitt Topographic Quadrangle; Latitude: 35 degrees, 16 minutes, 30.0 seconds N., Longitude: 83 degrees, 41 minutes, 52.88 seconds W.; NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the strongly contrasting loamy-skeletal strata (2Cg horizon) is 20 inches to 40 inches. Depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Reaction is extremely acid to strongly acid unless limed. Content of mica flakes is few or common throughout. Content of rock fragments range from 5 to 35 percent in the horizons above the 2Cg horizon. Rock fragment content of the 2Cg horizon ranges from 35 to 80 percent. Rock fragments are mainly gravel and cobble size and well rounded.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. Dry value is less than 5. Texture in the fine earth fraction is silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam.
Where present, the AC horizon is similar in color to the A horizon. Texture in the fine earth fraction is loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam .
The Cg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture in the fine earth fraction is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, and coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The 2Cg horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. The texture in the fine-earth fraction is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, and coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. The 2Cg horizon is at or below the free water table and is continually saturated year round.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in this family. Soils in closely related families are the Halsey, Nikwasi, and Noti series. Halsey and Noti soils lack an organic carbon content of .2 percent at 50 inches. Nikwasi soils have an umbric epipedon 24 inches or more thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ela soils are on nearly level flood plains in the upper reaches of watersheds in the Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B). Flooding is occasional to frequent but of very brief or extremely brief duration. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. These soils formed in recent alluvium consisting of loamy material that is moderately deep to strata of sand, gravel, and/or cobbles. Near the type location, mean annual air temperature is about 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 55 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Nikwasi series, these are the Bandana, Cullowhee, Dellwood, French, Reddies, Smokemont, Thurmont, Toxaway, Wesser, and Whiteside soils. All but the Thurmont and Whiteside series occur on floodplains. Bandana and Cullowhee soils are somewhat poorly drained. Dellwood and Reddies soils are moderately well drained. French soils are moderately well to somewhat poorly drained. Smokemont soils are well drained. Toxaway soils are in a fine-loamy particle-size class and have an umbric epipedon 24 or more inches thick. Wesser soils are in a sandy-skeletal particle-size class. Thurmont soils are oxyaquic and Whiteside soils are moderately well drained and are on adjacent toe slopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly and very poorly drained; very slow to ponded runoff; moderately rapid permeability in the A horizon and rapid in the C horizons. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is estimated to be high in the A horizon and high or very high in the C horizons. The 2Cg horizon remains saturated throughout the year in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Pasture and hay land are the main agricultural uses. Although most areas have been cleared, crop production is severely limited due to wetness and flooding. As a result, many areas are now idle and commonly vegetated with alders, sedges, rushes, and broadleaf species. Common trees in forested areas are yellow poplar, hawthorns, hemlock, winterberry, sycamore, red maple, and river birch.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of North Carolina, Tennessee and possibly Georgia,. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Madison County, North Carolina, 2006.
REMARKS: The soils now placed in the Ela series were previously included in the Nikwasi series and were identified as a minor component or correlated as a taxadjunct to the Nikwasi series. However, as a result of additional field data collection and mapping in survey areas within the MLRA, the Ela series is found to be of wider extent.
Siliceous mineralogy family placement is based on lab data from the two sampled pedons listed below. However, mineralogy of individual pedons may vary with the characteristics of the alluvium within that watershed.
Revisions made 9/07(HCD) were to correct formatting problems in the OSD.
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:
Umbric Epipedon - The zone from the mineral soil surface to a depth of 16 inches (A horizon)
Aquic conditions evidence of endosaturation as indicated by redoximorphic features such as a reduced matrix (chroma of 2 or less) and presence of redox concentrations and depletions.
Contrasting particle-size classes within 20 to 40 inches Cg and 2Cg horizons.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Lab data from NSSC-SSL: S03NC-075-001, S03NC-075-002.
MLRA=130B