LOCATION MONONGAHELA             WV+AL KY MD OH PA TN VA

Established Series
TAD, JWB/Rev. MDJ
11/2014

MONONGAHELA SERIES


TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Fragiudults

TYPICAL PEDON: Monongahela silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil.)

Ap--0 to 18 cm (0 to 7 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many fine, and very fine roots throughout; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)

BA--18 to 30 cm (7 to 12 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and very fine roots; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)

Bt--30 to 56 cm (12 to 22 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; weak to moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and very fine roots; few fine distinct clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)

Btx1--56 to 79 cm (22 to 31 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse platy; firm; few fine distinct clay films on prism faces; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) iron concentrations and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear irregular boundary. (7 to 14 inches thick)

Btx2--79 to 107 cm (31 to 42 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silt loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse platy; very firm, brittle; few fine distinct clay films on prism faces; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) iron concentrations and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)

Btx3--107 to 132 cm (42 to 52 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) cobbly loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse platy; very firm, brittle; numerous fine pores; few fine distinct clay films on prism faces; many distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) iron concentrations and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) iron depletions; 25 percent sandstone cobbles; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)

C--132 to 165 cm (52 to 65 inches); mixed strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and light gray (N 7/0) very cobbly silty clay loam, pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) crushed; massive; firm; 35 percent weathered shale and sandstone gravels and cobbles; very strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION:
County: Randolph
State: West Virginia
USGS Quadrangle: Beverly East
Latitude: 38 degree 49 minutes 20 seconds N. NAD 27
Longitude: 79 degrees 51 minutes 33 seconds W. NAD 27
Directions to the Pedon: 2.7 miles east of Beverly, 100 feet north of church on north boundary of Randolph County 4-H Camp.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Top of Argillic: 13 to 46 cm (5 to 18 inches)
Depth to Bottom of Argillic: 102 to 183 cm (40 to 72 inches)
Solum thickness ranges from 102 to 183 cm (40 to 72 inches).
Depth to the fragipan ranges from 46 to 76 cm (18 to 30 inches).
Depth to Bedrock: Usually greater than 165 cm (65 inches)
Depth Class: Very Deep
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 41 to 76 cm (16 to 30 inches)
Rock Fragment Percent: rounded gravel and cobbles dominantly is 0 to 15 percent but ranges from 0 to 30 percent above the fragipan, from 0 to 35 percent in the fragipan, and from 10 to 40 percent in the C horizon. Cobbles are generally limited to the lower Btx, BC, C, and 2C horizons.
Reaction Class: Unless limed, the soil is strongly acid or very strongly acid throughout.

Range in Individual Horizons:
A or Ap horizon:
Color: hue of 10YR, values of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. In undisturbed areas, an A horizon less than 5 inches thick is present and ranges from dark brown (10YR 3/3) to dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4).
Texture (Fine-earth material): silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam.

BA horizon (where present):
Color: hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8.
Texture (fine-earth material): silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam.

Bt horizon:
Color: hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8.
Texture (fine-earth material): silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam.

Btx horizon:
Color: hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, values of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 through 8.
Texture (fine-earth material): silt loam, loam, or sandy clay loam, but in some pedons is clay loam or fine sandy loam.
Redoximorphic features have hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. The expression of the fragipan is evident to strong.

BC horizon (where present):
Color: hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8.
Texture (fine-earth material): loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam.

C or 2C horizon:
Color: hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 8. Commonly contains mixed low chroma colors.
Texture (fine-earth material): sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam.

COMPETING SERIES:
Annandale soils do not have redoximorphic features within 40 inches of the surface and are formed in glacial till.
Beltsville soils have rock fragments that are dominantly quartz and are formed in fluviomarine deposits.
Hanover soils have some angular rock fragments and are formed in glacial till with or without a thin mantle of loess.
Landisburg soils contain chert fragments throughout.
York soils are dominated by rock fragmants of sericite schist

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: River Valleys
Landform: Terraces
MLRA(s): 121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,147
Geomorphic Component: treads and risers
Hillslope Profile Position: toeslopes
Parent Material: old alluvium from soils derived largely from acid sandstone and shale
Slope: 0 to 25 percent
Elevation: 176 to 1006 meters, though most acreage is below 400 meters
Frost Free Days: 123 to 200 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 7.2 to 14.0 degrees C (45 to 57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 889 to 1400 mm (35 to 55 inches)
Thickness of the alluvium ranges from 102 to 178 cm (40 to 70 inches) or more.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Allegheny soils do not have a fragipan.
Berks soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Culleoka soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Dekalb soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Dormont soils do not have a fragipan and may be shallower to bedrock.
Gilpin soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Peabody soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Purdy soils are more poorly drained.
Upshur soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Tygart soils are more poorly drained.
Weikert soils do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Westmoreland do not have a fragipan and are shallower to bedrock.
Zoar soils have finer textures.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Moderately well drained
Internal Free Water: Very thin or thin (10 to 51 cm thick); moderately deep (41 to 76 cm from the surface); common (present 3 to 6 months).
Index Surface Runoff: negligible to very high.
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high above the fragipan, moderately low to moderately high in and below the fragipan.
Permeability Class (Obsolete): above the fragipan is moderate, and in the fragipan it is moderately slow or slow.
Flooding Frequency and Duration: none
Ponding Frequency and Duration: none

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: pasture, cultivated crops, and industrial and residential sites. Wooded acreage is generally limited.
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated, common crops are corn, soy beans, and wheat. There are some localized areas that still grow tobacco. Pasture and hayland commonly has mixtures of grasses and legumes. Where wooded, common trees include red oak, white oak, yellow-poplar, sycamore, white pine, and Virginia pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama.
Extent: Large

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Greene County, Pennsylvania, 1921.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 inches, Ap and BA horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from 30 to 132 cm (12 to 52 inches, Bt and Btx horizons).
Fragipan - the zone from 56 to 132 cm (22 to 52 inches, Btx horizon).
The Monongahela series became the official State Soil of West Virginia by an act of the West Virginia Legislature in 1997.
The 2007 revision corrects the coordinates of the Type Location and updates the Competing Series section.
Previous revisions: Rev. FDC-SLH-JWB, 01/2003 FDC-SLH-ART

ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data is available on the typifying pedon, Pedon ID 62WV083005. An additional sampled pedon from the same map unit is Pedon ID S99-WV083-001.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.