LOCATION KNAPP CREEK NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, frigid Typic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Knapp Creek sandy loam, on a 4 percent slope in a wooded area at an elevation of 2,380 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted).
Oe--0 to 3 inches; black (10YR 2/1) partially decomposed hardwood leaf litter; many coarse to fine roots; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
E--3 to 11 inches; pinkish gray (5YR 6/2) gravelly loamy sand; single grain, loose; common coarse to fine roots; 25 percent rock fragments, of which 10 percent is subrounded quartz pebbles 1 to 2 inches in diameter, 5 percent is subrounded sandstone conglomerate and 10 percent sandstone conglomerate greater than 3 inches; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 12 inches thick)
Bw1--11 to 16 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine to medium roots; few fine tubular discontinuous pores; 25 percent rock fragments, of which 10 percent is subrounded quartz pebbles 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter, 10 percent subrounded sandstone conglomerate and 5 percent sandstone conglomerate greater than 3 inches; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--16 to 22 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) very gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine to medium roots; few fine tubular discontinuous pores; 40 percent rock fragments, of which 20 percent is subrounded quartz pebbles 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter, 10 percent subrounded sandstone conglomerate and 10 percent sandstone conglomerate greater than 3 inches; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bw horizons are 10 to 35 inches)
BC--22 to 48 inches; 50 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and 50 percent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) extremely gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to single grain; very friable; few fine and medium roots; 70 percent rock fragments, of which 5 percent is subrounded quartz pebbles 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter, 45 percent sandstone conglomerate and 20 percent sandstone conglomerate greater than 3 inches; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (thickness of the BC horizon is 12 to 30 inches)
Cr--48 to 58 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4); highly weathered sandstone conglomerate matrix with quartz pebbles 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter; abrupt smooth boundary.
R--58 inches; Olean conglomerate, sandstone matrix with quartz pebbles 0.5 to 3 inches in diameter.
TYPE LOCATION: Cattaraugus County, New York; town of Olean, 3.5 miles northeast of village of Knapp Creek, 1,400 feet north of Two Mile Road and NY Rt. 16, 800 feet southeast of NY Rt. 16. Olean NY Quad: Latitude: 42 01 33 N Longitude: 78 26 46 W NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 25 to 50 inches. Depth to bedrock is 40 to 72 inches or more. Rock fragments of subrounded quartz and sandstone, range from 5 to 70 percent in individual horizons of the solum and from 35 to 80 percent in the substratum. Boulders, stones, and channers cover about 5 to 60 percent of the surface of some pedons. The control section averages less than 18 percent clay. Reaction ranges from strongly acid through extremely acid throughout the soil where unlimed.
The A horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or loam.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7 and chroma of 1 to 4. It is loamy sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is weak, fine to medium granular or single grain. Consistence is very friable or loose.
The B horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture is loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or loam in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is weak or moderate, fine to medium subangular blocky or granular. Consistence is very friable or friable. Some pedons have a dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) slightly cemented Bhs horizon less than one inch thick.
The BC, CB or C horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. It ranges from loam to loamy sand in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is weak subangular blocky, single grain or the material is massive. Consistence is very friable or friable.
Some pedons may have a Cr horizon of highly weathered sandstone conglomerate matrix with quartz pebbles.
COMPETING SERIES: At this time, there are no know series in the same family. The Lagross, Macomber, Mandy, Rockrift (T), Skytop (T) and Vly series are in related frigid families. Other series in related mesic families include the Berks, Blasdell, Calvin, Chenango, Dekalb, Hazleton, Lehew, Manlius, Oquaga, Tunkhannock and Wyoming soils. The Berks, Carrollton, Dekalb, Lehew, Macomber, Mandy, Manlius, Oquaga, and Vly soils have bedrock within 40 inches. Chenango, Lagross, Tunkhannock and Wyoming soils have water-sorted sand and gravel within the series control section. Rockrift (T) and Skytop (T) soils formed in glacial till at lower elevations. Blasdell and Manlius soils have rock fragments dominately of shale. Calvin soils formed in red residuum material.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Knapp Creek soils are on ridges and summits. Slopes are usually convex with gradients from 0 to 15 percent. These soils developed in material weathered from the Olean sandstone conglomerate. The Olean formation varies from a massive conglomerate with well rounded pebbles, 0.25 to 3 inches in diameter, of milky quartz imbedded in a dark gray siliceous matrix, to a coarse quartzose sandstone containing few pebbles. The conglomerate contains a weakly cemented quartzose sandstone as a matrix. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 40 to 45 degrees F.; mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 45 inches; and the growing season ranges from is 90 to 120 days. These soils are mostly above elevations of 2,200 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The competing Carrollton, Elko, Eldred, Kinzua, Mandy and Onoville soils are in the same landscape. Buchanan, Cookport, Gilpin, Rayne, Hartleton and Wharton soils are nearby. Buchanan, Cookport, Elko and Onoville soils have fragipans. Carrollton, Gilpin and Mandy soils have bedrock within 40 inches. Eldred, Hartleton, Kinzua, Rayne and Wharton soils have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Surface runoff is low to medium. Permeability is moderately rapid to rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most Knapp Creek soils are in woodland areas of mixed oaks, sugar maple, black cherry, striped maple and occasional conifers. Some areas have been cleared for pasture and cropland. A few areas have been mined for silica and gravel.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Unglaciated areas in the Appalachian Plateau of southwestern New York at elevations above 2,200 feet, MLRA 127. The series is of minor extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cattaraugus County, New York 2002. The name is from a village in Cattaraugus County.
REMARKS: This series is of minor extent but is separated because of its unique characteristics developed from the weathering of the Olean conglomerate.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 11 inches ( A and E horizons).
b. Cambic horizon - the zone from 11 to 22 inches (Bw horizon).
c. Loamy-skeletal feature - greater than 35 percent by volume weighted average rock fragments in the particle-size control section.