LOCATION GALLIA OH+WV
Established Series
Rev. DRM
02/2022
GALLIA SERIES
The Gallia series consists of deep, well drained, moderately permeable soils that formed in stratified old alluvium and some lacustrine sediments in preglacial valleys. These soils are on summits on high terraces and have slopes ranging from 2 to 25 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 40 inches, and mean annual temperature is about 54 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, active, mesic Typic Paleudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Gallia silt loam - on a 3 percent convex slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; friable; many roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 12 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; moderate fine angular blocky structure; friable; common roots; common faint dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay films and common distinct (10YR 6/3) silt coats on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--12 to 23 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to strong fine angular blocky; firm; common roots; common distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films and few distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt coats on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt3--23 to 30 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) clay loam; strong medium angular blocky structure; firm; few roots; common distinct brown (5YR 4/4) clay films and few distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) silt coats on faces of peds; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
Bt4--30 to 41 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) sandy clay; strong coarse angular blocky structure; firm; few roots; many distinct yellowish red (5YR 3/6) clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt5--41 to 67 inches; dark red (2.5YR 3/6) sandy clay loam; strong coarse angular blocky structure parting to strong medium and fine angular blocky; firm; few roots; clean silt and sand grains in many distinct patches on faces of peds; 5 percent soft weathered pebbles; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 55 to 70 inches.)
BC--67 to 83 inches; dark red (2.5Y 3/6) gravelly sandy loam; massive with some vertical partings; firm; few faint dark reddish brown (2.5Y 3/4) clay films on faces of vertical partings; clean silt and sand grains in many distinct patches on faces of vertical partings; 15 percent soft weathered gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (12 to 50 inches thick)
C--83 to 120 inches; brown 7.5YR 5/4), yellowish red (5YR 5/8), and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) stratified loamy sand and gravelly loamy sand; single grained; loose; 25 percent gravel; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Washington County, Ohio; in Belpre Township on southwest edge of Little Hocking; about 1,450 feet southwest of the bridge on US 50 and old State Route 7 across the Little Hocking River, and 75 feet southeast of highway.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 60 to 108 inches. Volume of coarse fragments, commonly weathered sandstone, shale, quartzite, and some crystalline pebbles 2 mm to 2.5 cm in size, and less commonly 2.5 cm to 75 cm in size, are 0 to 10 percent in the A horizon, 0 to 25 percent in the B, and 0 to 30 percent in the C. The particle size control section commonly is 20 to 32 percent clay but ranges from 18 to 35 percent. Skeletans are evident in the lower part of the B horizon.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5 (6 or more dry), and chroma of 3 or 4. Some pedons have a thin horizon that has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. The Ap or A horizon is silt loam or loam. It is very strongly acid to neutral.
Some pedons have an E horizon. It is silt loam or loam. It is very strongly acid to neutral.
The Bt or 2Bt horizon commonly has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR with subhorizons of 7.5YR that are most common in the upper part, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. It commonly is loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, sandy clay, or their gravelly analogs, but some pedons have silt loam in the upper part or thin subhorizons of silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay in the lower part. It is strongly acid or very strongly acid.
The BC or 2BC horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 8, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is sandy loam, loamy sand, or their gravelly analogs. It is very strongly acid to medium acid.
The C or 2C horizon has hue of 2.5YR, 5YR, or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. It is stratified loamy sand, sandy loam, or their gravelly analogs with strata less than 5 inches thick of sandy clay loam or loam. It is very strongly acid to medium acid.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the
Portia series in the same family and the
Allegheny,
Elk,
Elkinsville,
Negley,
Parke,
Wheeling, and
Williamsburg series. Portia soils have black concretions in the upper argillic horizon and lack skeletans in the lower B horizon. Allegheny soils lack reddish hue and have base saturation of less than 35 percent. Elk, Elkinsville, and Wheeling soils typically have sola less than 60 inches thick, lack reddish hue, and have mixed mineralogy, and in addition, Elk and Elkinsville soils are fine-silty. Negley soils have mixed mineralogy and contain more gravel. Parke soils are fine-silty, have mixed mineralogy, and lack skeletans in the lower part of the solum. Williamsburg soils have mixed mineralogy and lack reddish hue.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Gallia soils are on interfluves of high terraces undergoing dissection and have slope gradients of 2 to 25 percent. The soils formed in stratified old alluvium and some lacustrine sediments in wide preglacial valleys that in some places have a silt or loess mantle up to 18 inches in thickness. Some strata include pebbles and fragments of sandstone, shale, quartzite, and crystalline rocks. Most of the coarse fragments except quartzite and chert are weathered and disintegrate readily. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 35 to 44 inches, and mean annual air temperature ranges from about 52 to 56 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Licking,
Otwell, and
Vincent soils on high terraces and the
Dekalb,
Gilpin,
Summitville, and
Upshur soils. Licking and Vincent soils have fine textured argillic horizons and underlying materials, and in addition, Licking soils are moderately well drained. Otwell soils are moderately well drained, have fragipans, and are on broader, less sloping areas. Dekalb, Gilpin, Summitville, and Upshur soils formed in residuum weathered from the underlying sandstone, siltstone, and shale and are on nearby dissected uplands.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Gallia soils are well drained. Runoff is medium. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all of these soils are used for general crops and orchards. Corn, wheat, and hay are general farm crops. The original vegetation consisted of mixed deciduous forest.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Ohio and West Virginia. The series is not extensive, less than 10,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Washington County, Ohio, 1973
REMARKS:
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data available for the typical pedon (WS-1).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.