LOCATION KITTY HAWK NC+VA
Established Series
JDK-RBT
10/2026
KITTY HAWK SERIES
MLRA(s)--153B
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet)
Parent material--Sandy lagoonal deposits with origin from marine and eolian sands
Geomorphic location--Washover-fans
Slope range--0 to 1 percent
Mean annual air temperature--17 degrees C (63 degrees F)
Mean annual water temperature--15 degrees C (59 degrees F)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, thermic Sulfic Psammowassents
TYPICAL PEDON: Kitty Hawk fine sand on a washover-fan flat under 2.6 meters of brackish water (colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated; electrical conductivity is 1:5 by volume solution mixture unless otherwise stated).
ACseg--0 to 55 centimeters; very dark gray (5Y 3/1) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; slight sulfurous odor; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; 5 percent herbaceous plant fibers; very slightly saline (2.2 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.1), extremely acid (pH 4.1) oxidized pH; clear boundary (23 to 55 centimeters thick).
Cseg1--55 to 93 centimeters; dark gray (N 4/) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; slight sulfurous odor; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; 10 percent herbaceous plant fibers; nonsaline (1.1 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.4), extremely acid (pH 3.8) oxidized pH; clear boundary.
Cseg2--93 to 200 centimeters; dark gray (N 4/) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; slight sulfurous odor; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (1.2 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.6), strongly acid (pH 5.1) oxidized pH.
TYPE LOCATION: Dare County, North Carolina; Currituck Sound; approximately 4.2 kilometers (2.6 miles) west of the intersection of North Croatan Highway and West Worthington Lane in the town of Kitty Hawk, and approximately 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) south-southwest of the intersection of Martins Point Road and Route 158 at the traffic light; USGS topographic quadrangle: Kitty Hawk.
Latitude--36.0757950
Longitude-- -75.7463110
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--from hand-held GPS
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Manner of failure / fluidity class--Nonfluid to slightly fluid throughout
Shell fragments--0 to 10 percent, by volume
Sulfurous odor--None to strong throughout
Soil reaction--Slightly acid to moderately alkaline throughout (pH 6.1 to 8.4)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra acid to moderately alkaline throughout (pH < 3.5 to 8.4)
Depth to hypersulfidic / sulfidic materials (oxidized pH 4.0)--0 to 100 centimeters
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil to water solution)--0.6 to 3.0 dS/m throughout
Salinity class--Nonsaline to very slightly saline
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--1.8 to 6.7 kg m-2
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--2.2 to 7.9 kg m-2
Aseg or ACseg horizon:
Hue--5Y
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--1
Texture--Fine sand
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 7.1 kg m-3
Cseg or CAseg horizons:
Hue--2.5Y to 5GY, or Neutral
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--Fine sand or loamy fine sand
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 27 kg m-3
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series in the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape--Barrier island lagoons
Landform--Washover-fan flats and slopes
Parent material--Sandy lagoonal deposits with origin from marine and eolian sands
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Water depth range--0 to 3 meters (0 to 10 feet) below mean sea level
Water salinity range--0.5 to 5 parts per thousand
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the
Pine Island and
Trinity Harbor soils.
Pine Island soils--are on relict flood-tidal deltas and shoals and do not contain hypersulfidic materials.
Trinity Harbor soils--are on high-energy lagoon bottoms and do not contain hypersulfidic materials.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high to high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by brackish water. The water level is primarily driven by wind tides.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--The area is used for recreational fishing, swimming, hunting, and boating. Uses also include commercial fishing and crabbing.
Typical vegetation--Vegetation includes widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata), wild celery (Vallisneria americana), southern naiad (Najas guadalupensis), stonewort (Nitella sp.), and invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum). Vegetation coverage typically ranges from 25 to 50 percent.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Coastal plain estuaries in North Carolina and Virgina
Land Resource Regions--T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--153B
Extent--Small
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Special Projects Region
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Dare County, North Carolina, 2026
REMARKS:
The series is named after the town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Kitty Hawk soils were previously mapped as water in North Carolina and Virginia soil surveys.
Diagnostic horizons and other diagnostic soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are (Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition, 2022):
Ochric epipedon--The zone from 0 to 55 centimeters.
Hyposulfidic materials--The zone from 0 to 55 centimeters and 93 to 200 centimeters has an initial pH that decreases by 1 or more units but remains at a value of 4.0 or more after 16 weeks of moist aerobic incubation.
Hypersulfidic materials--The zone from 55 to 93 centimeters has a pH of 4.0 or less after 16 weeks of moist aerobic incubation.
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface (permanently submerged).
NASIS User Site and Pedon ID: S2024NC055002
_____________________________________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.