LOCATION LOST                    VA+NC

Established Series
JDK-RBT
10/2026

LOST SERIES

MLRA(s)--153B
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--0 to 1 meter (0 to 3 feet)
Parent material--Herbaceous organic material over loamy estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Submerged tidal marshes
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: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, nonacid, thermic Sulfic Fluviwassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Lost loamy fine sand on a submerged tidal marsh under 1.2 meters of brackish water (colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated; electrical conductivity is 1:5 by volume solution mixture unless otherwise stated).

Cseg--0 to 7 centimeters; black (N 2.5/) loamy fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; no sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderate effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; very slightly saline (2.9 dS/m); neutral (pH 6.8), slightly acid (pH 6.2) oxidized pH; clear boundary (0 to 25 centimeters thick).

Oase--7 to 40 centimeters; black (10YR 2/1) broken face and black (10YR 2/1) rubbed muck; H7 von Post scale; 50 percent unrubbed fibers, 15 percent rubbed fibers; strong sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (1.0 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.3), strongly acid (pH 5.2) oxidized pH; clear boundary (7 to 36 centimeters thick).

Aseg--40 to 71 centimeters; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; massive; moderately sticky, slightly plastic; moderately fluid; moderate sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.7 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.5), moderately acid (pH 5.9) oxidized pH; clear boundary (18 to 43 centimeters thick).

C'seg1--71 to 88 centimeters; very dark gray (N 3/) clay loam; massive; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; slightly fluid; moderate sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.8 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.6), very strongly acid (pH 4.5) oxidized pH; gradual boundary.

C'seg2--88 to 121 centimeters; dark gray (N 4/) loam; massive; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; moderately fluid; 8 percent medium distinct irregular light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of oxidized iron; slight sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.9 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.3), ultra acid (pH 3.1) oxidized pH; gradual boundary.

C'seg3--121 to 154 centimeters; gray (N 5/) loam; massive; nonsticky, nonplastic; slightly fluid; 20 percent coarse prominent irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.9 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.6), slightly acid (pH 6.2) oxidized pH; clear boundary.

C'seg4--154 to 200 centimeters; dark gray (N 4/) clay; massive; very sticky, very plastic; slightly fluid; 35 percent medium prominent irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; slight sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (1.0 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.6), slightly alkaline (pH 7.4) oxidized pH.

TYPE LOCATION: City of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Back Bay; approximately 1.4 kilometers (0.9 miles) east of the intersection of Muddy Creek Road and Drum Point Road, and approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) southeast of the intersection of Muddy Creek Road and Shipps Cabin Road; USGS topographic quadrangle: North Bay.

Latitude--36.6501240
Longitude-- -75.9775740
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 very fluid throughout the mineral horizons
Shell fragments--0 to 4 percent, by volume
Sulfurous odor--None to strong throughout
Soil reaction--Neutral to slightly alkaline throughout (pH 6.6 to 7.8)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra acid to slightly alkaline throughout (pH < 3.5 to 7.8)
Depth to hypersulfidic / sulfidic materials (oxidized pH 4.0)--0 to 100 centimeters
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil to water solution)--0.6 to 2.9 dS/m throughout
Salinity class--Nonsaline to very slightly saline
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--3 to 29 kg m-2
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--8 to 56 kg m-2

Surface Cseg horizons (where present):
Hue--5Y or 10Y, or neutral
Value--2.5 to 4
Chroma--0 or 1
Texture--Sand, fine sand, or loamy fine sand
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 7.1 kg m-3

Oase or Oese horizon:
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--2 to 3
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--Muck or mucky peat
von Post--H4 to H10
Organic carbon density--20 to 71 kg m-3

Aseg or Asegb horizons:
Hue--10YR to 10Y
Value--2.5 or 3
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--Loamy fine sand, loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, or their mucky analogs
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 37 kg m-3

C'seg or subsurface Cseg horizons:
Hue--2.5Y to 10Y, or neutral
Value--2.5 to 5
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--Loam, clay loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay, or their mucky analogs
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 27 kg m-3

2Cseg, 3Cseg, or 4Cseg horizons (where present):
Hue--5Y or 5GY, or neutral
Value--2.5 to 6
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--Fine sand, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, or their mucky analogs
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 7.1 kg m-3

COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series in the same family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape--Barrier-island lagoons and southeast coastal plain estuaries
Landform--Submerged tidal marshes
Parent material--Herbaceous organic material over loamy estuarine deposits
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Water depth range--0 to 1 meter (0 to 3 feet) below mean sea level
Water halinity range--0.5 to 5 parts per thousand

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the False Cape, Kill Devil, Pine Island, and Whalehead soils.
False Cape soils--are on submerged wave-built terraces and do not contain hypersulfidic materials.
Kill Devil soils--are on low-energy lagoon bottoms, fluviomarine bottoms, and mainland coves and do not contain hypersulfidic materials.
Pine Island soils--are on relict flood-tidal deltas and do not contain hypersulfidic materials.
Whalehead soils--are on submerged wave-cut platforms and do not contain hypersulfidic materials.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately low 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 is less abundant, but where present, widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), stonewort (Nitella sp.), and Eurasian milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) have been observed.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Coastal plain estuaries in North Carolina and Virginia
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: City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2026

REMARKS:
The series is named after the fabled Lost Colony of Roanoke. Some pedons in the lagoon may have a thin surface mantle of sand. Pedons found in lower energy areas may lack this mantle and instead have eroded marsh materials at the soil surface. Lost 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):
Histic epipedon--The zone from 7 to 40 centimeters.
Sapric soil materials--The zone from 7 to 40 centimeters has a fiber content after rubbing that is less than one-sixth of the original soil volume.
Hyposulfidic materials--The zone from 7 to 88 centimeters and 121 to 154 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.
Fluidity--The zone from 40 to 200 centimeters has a fluidity class of slightly to moderately fluid.
Hypersulfidic materials--The zone from 88 to 121 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: S2024VA810003
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.