LOCATION GLADEHILL VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, superactive, mesic Fluventic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Gladehill fine sandy loam - on a 2 percent slope in hay field. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 5 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; many fine and medium roots; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 24 inches thick.)
Bw1--5 to 12 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; common fine roots; slightly acid; diffuse smooth boundary.
Bw2--12 to 42 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few fine roots; 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 30 to 60 inches thick.)
C1--42 to 60 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; 10 percent gravel; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
C2--60 to 65 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary.
C3--65 to 72 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Botetourt County, Virginia, about 1.0 mile southeast of Springwood, 3,000 feet southwest of the junction of Highways VA-630 and VA-43, and 300 feet north of the James River.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to 60 inches or more. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Gravel and cobbles range from 0 to 15 percent in the Ap, A, and Bw horizons, and from 0 to 35 percent in the C and BC horizons. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to moderately alkaline throughout the soil.
The Ap horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
The A horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 through 6. In some pedons, the upper Bw horizon has value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 through 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam.
The BC horizon (where present) has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 through 6. The fine earth texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 through 8. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine-earth fraction. Some pedons have individual subhorizons of sandy clay loam or clay loam below 40 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: This is Irongate series. Irongate soils have a seasonal high water table between 18 and 36 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gladehill soils are on flood plains. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. These soils formed in alluvium derived from limestones, siltstones, and shales of Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian ages. In Virginia, Gladehill soils are on floodplains of the North Forks of the Holston and Shenandoah Rivers, the James River and its tributaries, and Reed Creek. Gladehill soils also occur on flood plains of the portions of the Maury River and other stream that drain areas underlain by rocks of the above lithologies and ages. Climate is temperate and humid. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 50 to 57 degrees F. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 45 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alonzville, Berks, Botetourt, Broadway, Caverns, Coursey, Derroc, Frederick, Groseclose, Gullion, Ingledove, Irongate, Lehew, Moomaw, Newmarc, Nomberville, Ogles, Shottower, Weikert, and Wolfgap soils. Alonzville, Botetourt, Caverns, Coursey, Ingledove, and Shottower soils have argillic horizons and are on stream terraces. Berks, Lehew, and Weikert soils are shallower to bedrock, contain more rock fragments in the subsoil, and are on uplands. Broadway, Gullion, Newmarc, Nomberville, and Wolfgap contain more clay in the subsoil and are on similar landscapes. Derroc and Ogles soils contain more rock fragments in the subsoil and are on similar landscapes. Frederick and Groseclose soils contain more clay in the subsoil and are on uplands. Irongate soils have a seasonal high water table between depths of 18 and 36 inches and are on similar landscapes. Moomaw soils have a fragipan and are on stream terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately rapid. Runoff is slow. Subject to flooding.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for row crops, hay, and pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Valley and Ridge physiographic province of West Virginia and Maryland. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Botetourt County, Virginia, 1990.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:
- Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 12 inches (Ap and Bw horizons).
- Cambic horizon - the zone from 12 to 42 inches (Bw2 horizon).
- Fluventic features - irregular organic matter content decrease with increasing depth.
- Udic moisture regime
Soils now within the range of the Gladehill series were correlated Chagrin, Grigsby, Pope, Ross, and Tioga in several published soil surveys.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Ranges for morphology, chemistry, particle-size distribution, and mineralogy are based on 5 pedons. These data are reported in:
Edmonds, W. J., D. D. Rector, D. A. Gall, D. R. Hatch, R. S. Joslyn, and J. C. Baker. 1987. Properties and classification of soils derived from stratified alluvium in the Valley and Ridge Province of Virginia. Va. Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 00-0 In press.