LOCATION MORRISTOWN OH+IL KY
Established Series
SLH-DJB Rev. MDJ
12/2012
MORRISTOWN SERIES
MLRAs: 113 (Central Claypan Areas), 114B (Southern Illinois and Indiana Thin Loess and Till Plain, Western Part), 115B (Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes, Western Part), 120A (Kentucky and Indiana Sandstone and Shale Hills and Valleys, Southern Part), 124 (Western Allegheny Plateau), 126 (Central Allegheny Plateau) and 139 (Lake Erie Glaciated Plateau)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, calcareous, mesic Typic Udorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Morristown gravelly clay loam, stony, on a 3 percent convex slope, seeded to grass-legume pasture. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 13 cm (0 to 5 inches); dark gray (10YR 4/1) gravelly clay loam, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard; common roots; common pores; 20 percent by volume gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 18 cm thick)
C1--13 to 46 cm (5 to 18 inches); variegated dark gray (5Y 4/1) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4 and 5/6) very gravelly clay loam: massive; slightly hard; common roots; 40 percent by volume gravel and cobbles; strongly effervescent; mildly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
C2--46 to 94 cm (18 to 37 inches); variegated dark gray (5Y 4/1), light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) and black (N 2/0) very gravelly clay loam; massive; firm; 40 percent by volume gravel and cobbles; strongly effervescent; mildly alkaline; clear wavy boundary.
C3--94 to 152 cm (37 to 60 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly loam; massive; friable; 40 percent by volume gravel and cobbles; slightly effervescent; mildly alkaline. (Combined thickness of the C horizon is 152 cm or more.)
TYPE LOCATION:
State: Ohio
County: Belmont
USGS Quadrangle: Fairview
Latitude: 40.086583 N NAD 83
Longitude: 81.187278 W NAD 83
Direction: Kirkwood Township, about 3,800 feet south and 1,600 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 22, T. 9 N., R. 6 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 cm (60 inches)
Depth Class: Very Deep
Rock Fragment Content: The A or Ap horizon ranges from 15 to 50 percent, by volume, where unreclaimed and up to 15 percent where reclaimed. The C horizon ranges from 35 to 80 percent, by volume, averaging 40 percent.
Rock Fragment Size: 2 mm to 25 cm, but can include stones and boulders
Rock Fragment Type: Limestone and shale with some medium-grained sandstone, siltstone and coal
Fine-Earth Fraction: Averages 18 to 35 percent clay in the control section
Soil Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline
Range of Individual Horizons:
A horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 1 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay loam, silty clay loam, silt loam or loam
C horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR through 5Y, value of 2 through 6, and chroma of 0 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam or silty clay loam
COMPETING SERIES:
Janelew soils--Janelew soils form from calcareous regolith of greater than 65 percent mudstone with small amounts of sandstone, limestone, siltstone and shale. The particle-size control section ranges from 23 to 35 percent clay and 7 to 23 percent fine and coarser sand. The percent of fine and coarser sand is commonly less than 15 percent.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Hills
Landform: Hillslope
Anthropogenic Features: Surface mine, spoil bank, spoil pile and reclaimed land
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, backslope, footslope and toeslope
Geomorphic Component: Interfluve, side slope, head slope, nose slope, free face and base slope
Parent Material: Coal extraction mine spoil derived from calcareous regolith, dominantly limestone and shale with some medium-grained sandstone and siltstone
Slope: 0 to 90 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 9 to 13 degrees C. (48 to 56 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 889 to 1143 mm (35 to 45 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Fairpoint soils--occur on similar landscape positions derived from nonacid surface mine overburden
Bethesda soils--occur on similar landscape positions derived from acid surface mine overburden
Culleoka soils--formed in residuum from shale, siltstone, limestone and sandstone on undisturbed uplands
Elba soils--formed in residuum from limestone, shale and siltstone on undisturbed uplands
Guernsey soils--formed in residuum from siltstone, shale and limestone on undisturbed uplands
Lowell soils--formed in residuum from limestone and shale on undisturbed uplands
Westmoreland soils--formed in residuum from siltstone, sandstone and limestone on undisturbed uplands
Gilpin soils--formed in residuum from shale, siltstone and sandstone on undisturbed uplands
Upshur soils--formed in residuum from shale and siltstone on undisturbed uplands
Brookside soils--formed in colluvium from siltstone, shale, sandstone and limestone on undisturbed uplands
Vandalia soils--formed in colluvium from shale, siltstone and sandstone on undisturbed uplands
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: None
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Very high
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Low through moderately high in the upper part, and very low through moderately high in the lower part
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Wildlife habitat and recreational areas. The rough topography and coarse fragment content of unreclaimed areas make it impractical for agriculture and difficult for standard forest harvesting practices. Some reclaimed areas are used for hay or pasture, and increasingly, are also used for homesites. Reclaimed areas typically exhibit higher bulk densities, much lower saturated hydraulic conductivities and low organic matter in the surface horizon, making establishment of vegetation difficult.
Dominant Vegetation: Unreclaimed areas are naturally seeded deciduous forests with a few barren areas. Reclaimed areas are usually open grassland, including some legumes. A few reclaimed areas have been planted to trees, but mortality is high because of soil compaction.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky
Extent: Large, about 158,000 acres identified at the time of this revision
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Belmont County, Ohio, 1978
REMARKS: Morristown soils were previously mapped as a variety of strip mine spoil and udorthents units.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 13 cm (Ap horizon)
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 200 cm
Previous revisions: 6/01-DRM,TNR,KKH
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data and engineering test data is available for pedons BT-21 (typical pedon), BT-22 and BT-23; analyzed by The Ohio State University Soil Characterization Laboratory, Columbus, Ohio.
Additional characterization data is available for pedons MS-16, MS-18, MS-19 and MS-20.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.