LOCATION HERNDON SC+AL GA NC VA
Established Series
Rev. DJD;DTA
09/2025
HERNDON SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very Deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from fine-grained metavolcanic rock of the Carolina Slate Belt
Slope: 2 to 25 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 15 degrees C (60 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1194 millimeters (47 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Herndon silt loam--forested. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 8 centimeters (0 to 3 inches); very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots, few medium and coarse roots; 2 percent quartz gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 23 centimeters (0 to 9 inches) thick)
E--8 to 23 centimeters (3 to 9 inches); pale olive (5Y 6/4) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots, few medium and coarse roots; 2 percent quartz gravel; few fine brown concretions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 23 centimeters (0 to 9 inches) thick)
BE--23 to 36 centimeters (9 to 14 inches); pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine, medium and coarse roots; 1 percent quartz gravel; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches) thick)
Bt1--36 to 63 centimeters (14 to 25 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) silty clay; few fine and medium distinct olive yellow (2.5Y 6/8) mottles, moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few medium and coarse roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--63 to 99 centimeters (25 to 39 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay; few fine prominent reddish yellow (5YR 6/8) and few fine distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) mottles; firm, hard; few medium and coarse roots; few dark brown concretions; few faint clay films on faces of peds; 1 percent fragments of partially weathered rock; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--99 to 122 centimeters (39 to 48 inches); reddish yellow (7.5YR 7/8) silty clay loam; few fine prominent very pale brown (10YR 7/3), yellowish red (5YR 5/8), and olive yellow (5Y 6/8), and few fine faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; few faint clay films mostly on vertical faces of peds; 1 percent quartz gravel; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon ranges from 61 to 122 centimeters (24 to 48 inches) thick)
C--122 to 173 centimeters (48 to 68 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/8), yellowish red (5YR 5/8), red (2.5YR 4/6), very pale brown (10YR 7/4), and very pale brown (10YR 8/2) silt loam; 80 percent saprolite that crushes easily; 10 percent slate channers; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Saluda County, South Carolina; about 8 miles north of Saluda; 0.25 mile southwest of Coleman's Crossroad on South Carolina Highway 78; 100 feet west of South Carolina Highway 78, in woods. USGS Saluda North, South Carolina topographic quadrangle
Latitude--34.103611
Longitude-- -81.776944
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the clayey part of the Bt horizon: 61 to 122 centimeters (24 to 48 inches)
Depth to the bottom of the clayey Bt horizon: Greater than 76 centimeters (30 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume, in the A and E horizons, and 0 to 10 percent, by volume, in the Bt and lower horizons
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to slightly acid in the A and E horizons and extremely acid to strongly acid in the B and C horizons
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. Horizons with value of 3 are less than 6 inches thick.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam. Where eroded, silty clay loam or clay loam
E horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam
BE horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 4 to 6
Texture--silt loam, loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam.
Bt horizon:
Color--has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 4 to 8. Mottles in shades of brown, yellow, or red are in most pedons.
Texture--silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay. The lower part of the Bt horizon also allows silt loam, loam, or clay loam. Some pedons have relict mottles in shades of gray or white in lower subhorizons. The particle-size control section averages more than 30 percent silt, or more than 40 percent silt plus very fine sand, or less than 15 percent sand coarser than very fine sand.
BC horizon, where present:
Color--hue of 5YR to 10 YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 4 to 8, or is mottled in shades of these colors. Mottles in shades of brown, yellow, red, gray, or white may occur.
Texture--silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam
C horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 8, or is mottled in shades of white, gray, brown, yellow, or red.
Texture--silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, or silty clay loam saprolite.
COMPETING SERIES:
Appling soils--have less than 30 percent silt in the control section
Cecil soils--are redder and have less than 30 percent silt in the control section
Georgeville soils--are redder in the control section
Nanford soils--have a depth to weathered bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Neeses soils--occur in the Coastal Plain and have less than 30 percent silt in the control section
Pacolet soils--are redder and have less than 30 percent silt in the control section
Tarrus soils--are redder and have a depth to weathered bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Wedowee soils--have less than 30 percent silt in the control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from fine-grained metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina Slate Belt
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 to 19 degrees C (59 to 66 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 940 to 1524 millimeters (37 to 60 inches)
Frost-free Period: 190 to 225 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Alamance soils--are fine-silty
Badin soils--have a depth to weathered bedrock of 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Goldston soils--are loamy-skeletal
Gundy soils--have mixed mineralogy and a base saturation over 35 percent
Kirksey soils--are fine-silty
Nanford soils--have a depth to weathered bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Nason soils--have a depth to weathered bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches) and have mixed mineralogy
Tarrus soils--are redder and have a depth to weathered bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Tatum soils--are redder, have a depth to weathered bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches), and have mixed mineralogy
Uwharrie soils--are redder and have mixed mineralogy
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland, pasture, or woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--cotton, small grains, corn, tobacco, and hay. Where wooded--loblolly or shortleaf pine with some mixed hardwood.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Extent: Extensive.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Statesville Area, North Carolina; 1901
REMARKS: The 1979 revision used the linear relationship between the thickness of the clayey Bt horizon and depth to the bottom of the clayey Bt horizon as series criteria instead of solum thickness.
The September 2025 revision reformatted the description to semi-tabular. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from the surface of the soil to 23 centimeters (9 inches) (A and E horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 23 to 123 centimeters (9 to 48 inches) (BE, Bt1, Bt2, and Bt3 horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
SC0017 HERNDON 2-25 59-66 190-225 37-60 300-1100
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
SC0017 NONE >6.0 - >60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
SC0017 0-9 ST-L ST-SIL ST-VFSL 10-30 75-95 5-27 5-11
SC0017 0-9 L SIL VFSL 0-2 85-100 5-27 5-11
SC0017 0-9 SICL 0-2 95-100 27-35 5-11
SC0017 9-48 SICL SIC C 0-1 90-100 35-60 8-12
SC0017 48-68 SIL L FSL 0-2 85-100 10-27 6-10
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
SC0017 0-9 4.5-6.5 .5-1. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
SC0017 0-9 4.5-6.5 .5-1. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
SC0017 0-9 4.5-6.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
SC0017 9-48 3.6-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
SC0017 48-68 3.6-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.