LOCATION MECKLENBURG NC+AL GA SC VA
Established Series
Rev. CMM:RBS:AG:DTA
11/2025
MECKLENBURG SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately low
Shrink-Swell Potential: Moderate
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from intermediate and mafic crystalline rocks
Slope: 2 to 25 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 degrees C (59 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1143 millimeters (45 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, thermic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Mecklenburg loam--pastured. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable; many fine roots; common fine pores; common fine black concretions; slightly acid, clear smooth boundary. (5 to 28 centimeters (2 to 11 inches) thick)
Bt1--20 to 43 centimeters (8 to 17 inches); yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; common fine roots; few fine pores; many fine black concretions; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--43 to 63 centimeters (17 to 25 inches); yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay; common fine distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; common black concretions; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 30 to 89 centimeters (12 to 35 inches).
BC--63 to 91 centimeters (25 to 36 inches); yellowish red (5YR 4/6) clay loam; common medium faint reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) and common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) mottles; weak subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; few fine black concretions; common fine lenses of gray clayey saprolite; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 38 centimeters (3 to 15 inches) thick)
C--91 to 152 centimeters (36 to 60 inches); mottled yellowish red (5YR 4/6), reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) highly weathered saprolite that has a sandy clay loam texture; massive; friable; many black and gray minerals; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Davidson County, North Carolina; about 0.7 mile west of Linwood on SR 1134; 20 feet north in pasture at bend in road; USGS Lexington West, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--35.757986
Longitude-- -80.325
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 51 to 152 centimeters (20 to 60 inches)
Thickness of Bt horizon: 61 to 127 centimeters (24 to 50 inches)
Depth to bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 30 percent, by volume, in the A horizon and 0 to 10 percent, by volume, in the Bt horizon. Manganese concretions are few to many in the A and B horizons.
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume, throughout
Soil Reaction: Strongly acid to slightly acid in the A horizon and moderately acid to neutral in the B and C horizons.
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6. A or Ap horizons with moist values less than 4 are less than 6 inches thick.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam, sandy loam, silt loam, loam, or their gravelly analogues. Eroded phases are sandy clay loam or clay loam.
BE or BA horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR or 5YR. In the upper part, value is 3 to 6, chroma is 4 to 8. In the lower part, value is 4 to 6 and chroma is 4 to 8. Few to common mottles in shades of brown, yellow or red are in the lower Bt horizon in most pedons.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay
BC horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 4 to 8 and is often mottled in these colors.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam, and contains up to 25 percent saprolite.
C horizon:
Color--mottled or multicolored
Texture--loamy saprolite
COMPETING SERIES:
Enon soils--have a brown subsoil
Gundy soils--have a higher Ksat classification and formed from residuum in the Carolina slate belt
Spray soils--formed residuum weathered from Triassic shale
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Ridges and hill slopes
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from intermediate and mafic crystalline rocks.
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 14 to 19 degrees C (58 to 66 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 940 to 1524 millimeters (37 to 60 inches)
Frost Free Period: 180 to 225 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Cecil soils--have a base saturation less than 35 percent
Coronaca soils--have moist colors with values of less than 4 throughout
Cullen soils--have more clay in the subsoil and have a base saturation less than 35 percent
Davidson soils--have moist colors with values of less than 4 throughout and have a base saturation less than 35 percent
Gaston soils--have a base saturation less than 35 percent
Lloyd soils-- have moist colors with values of less than 4 throughout and have a base saturation less than 35 percent
Iredell soils--are moderately well drained and have a brown subsoil
Pacolet soils--have a base saturation less than 35 percent
Wilkes soils--have a depth to soft bedrock of 25 to 50 centimeters (10 to 20 inches)
Winnsboro soils--have a depth to soft bedrock of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland or pasture and woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, soybeans, small grains, hay, and pasture. Where wooded--shortleaf, loblolly, and Virginia pines, yellow- poplar, sweetgum, southern red oak, northern red oak, white oak and hickory. Flowering dogwood, Eastern red cedar, sourwood, winged elm, sassafras, greenbrier, and American holly are common in the understory.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Extent: Moderate
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; 1910.
REMARKS:
The 4-2022 update replaced an offensive soil series name with Hallsummit. The 11-2025 update removed Hallsummit from this description. Hallsummit is not in MLRA 136 and is only located in TX and LA. This revision also changed the formatting. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 20 to 63 centimeters (8 to 25 inches) (Bt horizons)
Ultic Hapludalfs feature--base saturation of 35 to 60 percent in the zone between 91 to 152 centimeters (36 to 60 inches) (C horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0072 MECKLENBUR 2-25 58-66 180-225 37-60 400-900
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NC0072 NONE > 6.0 - - >60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
NC0072 0-8 L FSL SL 0-5 80-100 8-25 4-20
NC0072 0-8 GR-L GR-SL GR-FSL 2-10 55-85 8-25 4-20
NC0072 0-8 CL SCL 0-5 90-100 20-35 10-25
NC0072 8-25 C 0-5 85-100 40-60 15-35
NC0072 25-36 L SCL CL 0-5 85-100 20-35 10-20
NC0072 36-60 VAR - - - -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
NC0072 0-8 5.6-7.3 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0072 0-8 5.6-7.3 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0072 0-8 5.6-7.3 .5-1. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0072 8-25 5.6-7.3 0.-.5 0-0 0.06-0.2 MODERATE
NC0072 25-36 5.6-7.3 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0072 36-60 - - - -
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.