LOCATION MCCAMY TNEstablished Series
The McCamy series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils with moderate or moderately rapid permeability. They formed in residuum affected by soil creep in the upper part, that weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks such as arkose, arkosic sandstone, quartzite, graywacke, metasiltstone, or metasandstone. These gently sloping to very steep soils are on interfluves and side slopes in the Blue Ridge Mountains (MLRA 130). Slopes range from 2 to 65 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: McCamy coarse sandy loam on a 14 percent slope in a mixed forest. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oi--0 to 2 inches; slightly decomposed leaves and twigs.
Oe--2 to 3 inch; partially decomposed leaves and twigs.
Oa--3 to 5 inches; highly decomposed leaves, twigs, and roots.
A--5 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) coarse sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium and few coarse roots; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
BE--7 to 13 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and medium and few coarse roots; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--13 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium and few coarse roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 5 percent sandstone cobbles; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--22 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and medium roots; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 5 percent sandstone cobbles; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the argillic horizon is 10 to 30 inches)
Cr--26 to 33 inches; soft brownish fractured metasandstone that can be removed with difficulty with a spade. (0 to 8 inches thick)
R--33 inches; hard metasandstone.
TYPE LOCATION: McMinn County, Tennessee; east of Englewood approximately 7.3 miles on State Route 39 to the intersection with State Route 310, northeast 1.7 miles on State Route 310, east 2.25 miles on U.S. Forest Service Road 297, then west 2.0 miles to U.S. Forest Service Road 11041, north 1500 feet on U.S. Forest Service Road 11041, east of road 375 feet in mixed forest; USGS Mecca Quadrangle 35 degrees 20 minutes 02 seconds north latitude, 84 degrees 25 minutes 44 seconds west longitude.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness and depth to hard metasandstone bedrock range from 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments are mostly gravel, channers, cobbles, or stones of metasedimentary rocks range from 0 to 50 percent in the solum but the control section averages less than 35 percent. Rock fragments range from 5 to 50 percent below the solum. The soil ranges from strongly acid to extremely acid, unless limed.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, or sandy loam.
The BE, BA, or E horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is loam, clay loam, sandy loam, or sandy clay loam. Lithochromic mottles, if present, are in shades of red, brown, or yellow. Some pedons have hue of 2.5YR and clay texture below about 28 inches.
The BC or C horizon, when present, has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, or possibly clay in areas that have metasiltstone or metashale interbeds. Some pedons have lithochromic mottles in shades of red, brown, yellow, or gray. Some pedons have mottled colors with no dominant matrix color.
The Cr horizon when present, is soft fractured metasedimentary rock in shades of red, brown, yellow, or gray.
The R horizon is hard metasandstone, arkose, arksoic sandstone, or graywacke in shades of brown, yellow, or gray.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alonzville, Bailegap, Beersheba, Gunstock, Hambrook, Harmiller, Jefferson, Keener, Lily, Lonewood, Marr, Raftville (T), Riney, Sassafras, Shinbone, and Sunnyside series. Alonzville, Bailegap, Hambrook, Jefferson, Keener, Lonewood, Marr, Riney, Sassafrass, Shinbone, and Sunnyside soils are more than 40 inches to bedrock. Beersheba are moderately deep to a paralithic contact. Lily soils formed in residuum from sedimentary rocks primarily of Pennsylvanian age and contain fragments of those rocks. Gunstock soils formed in residuum from phyllite and are moderately deep to paralithic contact and deep to lithic contact. Harmiller soils have a paralithic contact at 20 to 40 inches and do not have a lithic contact within 60 inches. Raftville soils formed in colluvium and alluvium and contain fragments of chert and sandstone.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: McCamy soils are on upland ridges and side slopes and ranging from 2 to 65 percent. The soils formed in residuum from metasedimentary rocks of Cambrian or Precambrian age. Mean annual precipitation is estimated at 50 to 57 inches, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 53 to 57 degrees.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cataska, Ditney, Jeffrey, Junaluska, Keener, Lostcove, Maymead, Northcove, Soco, and Unicoi soils. Cataska and Unicoi soils are shallow and skeletal. Ditney and Maymead soils do not have an argillic horizon and are in a coarse-loamy family. Jeffrey soils have a dark suface layer 7 to 10 inches thick. Junaluska and Soco soils have a paralithic contact at 20 to 40 inches and lack a lithic contact within 20 to 40 inches. Keener, Lostcove, and Northcove soils are very deep and formed in colluvium.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to medium runoff were forest litter has not been disturbed, and rapid to very rapid runoff where forest litter has been significantly disturbed or removed; moderate or moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Principle use is woodland. Much of the acreage is owned by the U.S. Forest Service. Native forest has upland oaks, hickory, dogwood, elm, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, or white pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Blue Ridge (MLRA 130) in Tennessee, and possibly North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: McMinn County, Tennessee; 2000
REMARKS: McCamy soils were previously included in the Ditney or Soco series. McCamy and Lily soils are similar. McCamy soils will be restricted to MLRA 130 and Cambrian or Precambrian age parent material.
NSSL characterization data: S95TN-107-11; supplementary data from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; sample numbers: 95334-95337
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 13 inches (Oi, Oe, Oa, A, and BE horizons)
Argillic horizon: 13 to 26 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons)
Paralithic contact: 26 to 33 inches (Cr horizon)
Lithic contact: 33 inches (R)