LOCATION MONTONIA                NC+VA

Established Series
Rev. MKC:AG; Rev. DTA
02/2026

MONTONIA SERIES

MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Moderately deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Landscape: Piedmont
Landform: Ridges and side slopes
Parent Material: fine-grained, high-grade metamorphic rock such as sericite schist and phyllite
Slope: 2 to 60 percent
Frost Free Period (type location): 205 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 15 degrees C. (59 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1245 millimeters (49 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, thermic Typic Hapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Montonia very channery silt loam, on a convex 35 percent side slope -- forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oi--0 to 5 centimeters (0 to 2 inches); loose deciduous leaves and twigs and very dark brown (10YR 2/2) partially decomposed organic matter.

A--5 to 13 centimeters (2 to 5 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very channery silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium, and few coarse roots; 45 percent channers and 5 percent flagstones by volume; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 20 centimeters (3 to 8 inches) thick)

AB--13 to 25 centimeters (5 to 10 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery silt loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; 25 percent channers by volume; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) thick)

Bt--25 to 53 centimeters (10 to 21 inches); yellowish red (5YR 5/8) channery clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; 15 percent channers by volume; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (25 to 61 centimeters (10 to 24 inches) thick)

BCt--53 to 79 centimeters (21 to 31 inches); yellowish red (5YR 5/8) channery loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; 30 percent channers by volume; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches) thick)

Cr--79 to 112 centimeters (31 to 44 inches); multicolored weathered sericite schist bedrock.

R--112 centimeters (44 inches); hard unweathered sericite schist bedrock.

TYPE LOCATION: Cleveland County, North Carolina; 1.9 miles south of Kings Mountain on N.C. 161; 1.3 miles on Secondary Road 2289; 100 feet southeast in woods; USGS Kings Mountain, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.

Latitude--35.1955
Longitude-- -81.3186
Datum--WGS84

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to soft bedrock: 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)
Depth to hard bedrock: 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Soil reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid throughout, except where limed.
Rock Fragment Content: 15 to 60 percent, by volume, in the A AB, BA, and E horizons, 5 to 35 percent, by volume, in the Bt horizon and 15 to 60 percent, by volume, in the BC and C horizons. mostly channers, with a few flagstones in the A horizon of some pedons. Some areas have stones or boulders scattered about on the surface and are mapped as stony or bouldery phases.

RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color:--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 2 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam. In eroded pedons, the Ap horizon may be silty clay loam or clay loam.

AB or BA horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam or loam

E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 2 to 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam

Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silty clay loam, clay loam, or loam and has more than 30 percent silt.

BC horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8, or is mottled with these colors.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay loam, silty clay loam, or loam

C horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8, is mottled in these colors, or is multicolored.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, or very fine sandy loam

Cr horizon:
Color--multicolored
Texture--weathered sericite schist, phyllite, or other fine-grained metamorphic rock

R horizon:
Color--multicolored
Texture--hard unweathered sericite schist, phyllite, or other fine-grained high-grade metamorphic rock

COMPETING SERIES:
Fruithurst soils--are very deep
Rion soils--are very deep
Rome soils--are very deep
State soils--are very deep and formed in fluvial sediments on stream terraces
Wickham soils--are very deep and formed in fluvial sediments on stream terraces

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont
Landform: Ridges and side slopes
Parent Material: fine-grained, high-grade metamorphic rock such as sericite schist and phyllite
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 to 16 degrees C (59 to 61 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1194 to 1245 millimeters (47 to 49 inches)
Frost Free Period: 180 to 210 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Badin soils--are clayey
Georgeville soils--are very deep and clayey
Goldston soils--are shallow
Lignum soils--are deep and moderately well to somewhat poorly drained
Nanford soils--are deep and clayey
Tarrus soils--are deep and clayey
Uwharrie soils--are very deep and clayey

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland, pasture and hayland
Dominant Vegetation: Chestnut oak, white oak, hickory, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, and Virginia pine. Common understory species are American holly, flowering dogwood, mountain laurel, sourwood, and American hornbeam.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina, Virginia and possibly South Carolina
Extent: Small

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, North Carolina; 1997.

REMARKS:
This soil was formerly included in the Badin series. However, Badin soils are fine. This soil is in a fine-loamy particle size class because it contains, by weight, more than 15 percent particles that are fine sand or coarser, including fragments up to 7.5 cm in diameter. The soil horizon depths were revised on 10/2021 to ensure the description began at the soil surface. The February 2026 update updated the format. No data was changed.

Laboratory Data on particle size distribution and cation exchange capacity from N.C. State University, 1992:

Horizon Depth Sand Silt Clay CEC meq/100g clay
------- ------ ------ ---- ---- -----------------
Bt 8-19" 23.2 47.5 29.3 17.1
BC 19-29" 39.5 34.2 26.3 16.9

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches) (Oi, A and AB horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 25 to 79 centimeters (10 to 31 inches) (Bt and BC horizons)
Paralithic horizon--the zone from 79 to 112 centimeters (31 to 44 inches) (Cr horizon)
Lithic contact: 112 centimeters (44 inches) (R horizon)

ADDITIONAL DATA:

SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0288 MONTONIA 2-60 59-61 180-210 47-49 500-1700

SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NC0288 NONE >6.0 - - 20-40 SOFT

SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
NC0288 0-10 CN-SIL CN-L CN-VFSL 5-15 55-85 5-20 2-3
NC0288 0-10 CNV-SIL CNV-L 20-50 30-80 5-20 1-3
NC0288 10-21 CN-CL CN-SIL L 0-10 60-90 20-35 3-5
NC0288 21-31 CN-L CN-SICL CN-CL 5-15 50-80 10-35 1-5
NC0288 31-44 WB - - - -
NC0288 44-54 UWB - - - -

SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
NC0288 0-10 4.5-6.0 .5-3. 0-0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
NC0288 0-10 4.5-6.0 .5-3. 0-0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
NC0288 10-21 4.5-6.0 0-.5 0-0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
NC0288 21-31 4.5-6.0 0-.5 0-0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
NC0288 31-44 - - - -
NC0288 44-54 - - - -

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.