LOCATION HUSTONTOWN PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Fragiudalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Hustontown silt loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, in a pasture on lower third, foot slope of a side slope, at an elevation of 620 feet. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap-- 0 to 8 inches; dark reddish gray (5YR 4/2) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable, non sticky, non plastic; many fine and medium roots; many fine and medium vesicular and tubular pores; 5 percent subangular shale and sandstone channers; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
BE-- 8 to 12 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/3) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable, non sticky, non plastic; common fine and medium roots; common fine to coarse vesicular and tubular pores; 5 percent subangular shale and sandstone channers; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt1-- 12 to 20 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine and medium roots; common fine and medium vesicular pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 10 percent subangular shale and sandstone channers; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2-- 20 to 30 inches; varigated color pattern consists of 80% yellowish red (5YR 5/6) and 20% reddish brown (5YR 5/3); channery silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine and medium roots; few very fine and fine vesicular and tubular pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common fine and medium distinct pinkish gray (5YR 6/2) iron depletions on faces of peds and in pores; 15 percent subangular shale and sandstone channers; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Btx1-- 30 to 55 inches; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) channery loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate fine and medium platy; very firm and brittle, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots between vertical faces of peds; few fine and medium vesicular pores; common prominent continuous light gray (5YR 7/1) clay films on vertical faces of peds; few prominent black (N 2/) iron-manganese stains on faces of platy peds; few medium distinct pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) iron depletions in the matrix; 20 percent subangular shale and sandstone channers; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btx2-- 55 to 65 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery clay loam; few medium prominent pinkish gray (5YR 7/2) iron depletions in the matrix; moderate very coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium platy; very firm and brittle, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; very few fine roots between vertical faces of peds; few fine to coarse interstitial pores; common prominent continuous light gray (5YR 7/1) clay films on vertical faces of peds; very few prominent black (N 2/) iron-manganese stains on faces of platy peds; 20 percent subangular sandstone and shale channers; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Hustontown silt loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, in Thompson Township, Fulton County, 1.15 mile west of Dickeys Mountain, 1.4 mile northeast of the intersection of Pennsylvania Routes 2002 and 0928, 1800 feet west of Route 0928; USGS Big Cove Tannery topographic quadrangle; lat. 39 degrees 46 minutes 35 seconds N. and long. 78 degrees 05 minutes 58 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 65 inches. Depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Depth to fragipan is 18 to 32 inches. Depth to redox depletions or iron concentrations is from 16 to 30 inches. Content of clay in the control section is 18 to 30 percent. Rock fragments range from 5 to 30 percent in the solum, and 10 to 50 percent in the fragipan. Content of rock fragments in the control section is less than 35 percent. Rock fragments are shale, siltstone, or sandstone channers about 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter and 0.25 inches thick. In unlimed areas, soil reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid in the upper solum and from slightly acid to strongly acid in the lower part of the solum.
The Ap horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam or loam in the fine earth fraction. Structure is weak or moderate, fine or medium, granular or subangular blocky. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The BE horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is silt loam or loam in the fine earth fraction. Structure is weak or moderate medium subangular blocky. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is clay loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam in the fine earth fraction. Structure is moderate or strong, medium subangular blocky. Consistence is firm.
The Btx horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is loam, silt loam, or clay loam in the fine earth fraction. Structure is moderate, very coarse prismatic parting to moderate, medium platy. Consistence is very firm and brittle.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Comly, Jonca, and Readington, series in the same family. Comly, and Jonca, soils have hue of 7.5YR or yellower in the B- horizon. Jonca soils formed in loess over residuum from sandstone. Readington soils were formed in residuum and are 40 to 60 inches deep to bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hustontown soils are on colluvial fans and U-shaped drainageways and headslopes in the Ridge and Valley Province. The soils are on concave foot slopes and toe slopes. The soils are formed in colluvium derived from acid red shale, siltstone and sandstone sedimentary rocks. Mean annual precipitation is 36 to 44 inches and the mean annual air temperature is 50 to 53 degrees. The number of frost-free days range from 120 to 196.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Residual, well drained, Leck Kill, Calvin and Klinesville soils do not have a fragipan and are on adjacent side slopes. Poorly drained Brinkerton soils have more gray colors and are lower on the landscape in more depressional areas. Moderately well drained Basher soils and well drianed Barbour soils do not have a fragipan and are on nearby flood plains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface runoff is slow to medium. Permeability is moderate above the fragipan, and moderately slow in the fragipan
USE AND VEGETATION: Approximately 50 percent of the Hustontown soils are in cropland, 30 percent are in pasture or hayland and 50 percent are in woodland. Wooded areas are mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and southeastern Pennsylvania.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fulton County, Pennsylvania, 1993.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon- the zone from the surface to a depth of 8 inches (Ap horizon)
2. Argillic horizon- the zone from 12 to 65 inches (Bt and Btx horizons)
3. Fragipan- the zone from 30 to 65 inches (Btx horizon)
Soils were formerly included with Albrights series as a moderately well drained component.
Additional CEC class identified: (superactive)
ADDITIONAL DATA: Sampled pedon S93PA757-013 (1-8) will be sent to national lab for analysis. Pedon S62PA29-10 (1-7) has been characterized and data is available.