LOCATION NATHALIE                VA+NC

Established Series
HLG-DHE-JCN/Rev. JAK/DTA
04/2026

NATHALIE SERIES

MLRA(s): 136 (mesic 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 high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum from felsic igneous and metamorphic rock
Slope: 0 to 15 percent
Elevation (type location): 162 meters (530 feet)
Frost Free Period (type location): 190 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 14 degrees C (57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1067 millimeters (42 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, mesic Typic Kanhapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Nathalie sandy loam (in an area of Nathalie sandy loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes), in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)

Ap--0 to 23 centimeters (0 to 9 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy loam, brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; nonsticky, nonplastic; many fine and few medium roots; 12 percent by volume angular quartz gravel; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 30 centimeters (1 to 12 inches) thick)

BA--23 to 30 centimeters (9 to 12 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) sandy clay loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky; slightly plastic; common fine and medium tubular pores; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) thick)

Bt1--30 to 69 centimeters (12 to 27 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay; common medium distinct brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) and common medium prominent red (2.5YR 5/8) non-redoximorphic mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; moderately sticky; moderately plastic; few fine and medium roots; common fine and medium tubular pores; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt2--69 to 107 centimeters (27 to 42 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) clay; many coarse prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) non-redoximorphic mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; moderately sticky; moderately plastic; few fine and medium roots; common fine and medium tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; few fine mica flakes; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 63 to 127 centimeters (25 to 50 inches.)

BC--107 to 132 centimeters (42 to 52 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) clay loam; common medium prominent yellow (10YR 7/8) non-redoximorphic mottles; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; slightly sticky; slightly plastic; common fine mica flakes; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 38 centimeters (0 to 15 inches thick)

C--132 to 165 centimeters (52 to 65 inches); brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) and yellowish red (5YR 5/8) loam saprolite; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; very strongly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Halifax County, Virginia; about 250 feet west of intersection of State Route 644 and 645, 50 feet west of State Route 644, about 0.26 mile north of Nathalie, in a cultivated field; USGS Nathalie, Virginia topographic quadrangle.

Latitude--36.9373
Longitude-- -78.9472
Datum--WGS84

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of Argillic horizon: 10 to 36 centimeters (4 to 14 inches)
Depth to base of Argillic horizon: 89 centimeters or more (35 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 25 percent, by volume in the A and E horizon; 0 to 15 percent in the B horizon; and 0 to 25 percent in the C horizon
Mica content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume in the B and C horizon
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout, unless limed
Other Features: Clayey part (greater than 35 percent clay) of the argillic horizon extends to a depth of 76 centimeters (30 inches) or more and is 63 to 152 centimeters (25 to 60 inches) thick.

RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam

E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam

BA or BE horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, 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 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Hue ranges to 5YR where there are few to many non-redoximorphic mottles.
Texture--clay loam or clay with 35 to 60 percent clay
Mottles (if they occur)--non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of red, brown, yellow, or white

BC horizon or BCt horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture)--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Mottles (if they occur)--non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of red, brown, yellow, or white

C horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 4 to 8, and commonly does not have a dominant color.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--variable, commonly sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam saprolite

COMPETING SERIES:
Clifford soils--have redder subsoils
Fairview soils--have redder subsoils and have a clayey Bt horizon that is less than 63 centimeters (25 inches) thick
Hayesville soils--have redder subsoils at elevations above 2000 feet
Toast soils--have a clayey Bt horizon that is less than 63 centimeters (25 inches) thick
Westfield soils--have a paralithic contact at 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Woolwine soils--have a paralithic contact at 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches)

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum from felsic igneous and metamorphic rocks
Slope: 0 to 15 percent
Elevation: 107 to 427 meters (350 to 1400 feet)
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C (52 to 57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1016 to 1397 meters (40 to 55 inches)
Frost Free Period: 160 to 205 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Bentley soils--have a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of 91 to 183 centimeters (36 to 72 inches) from the soil surface and are moderately slowly or slowly permeable; on summits with fluvial capping
Clifford soils--have a redder subsoil; on similar landforms
Halifax soils--have a perched seasonal high water table at a depth of 46 to 76 centimeters (18 to 30 inches) from the soil surface; on less convex segments of the same landforms
Poplar Forest--have more mica and a redder subsoil
Huddleston--have a fine-loamy subsoil and more mica
Rhodhiss soils--have a fine-loamy subsoil
Toast soils--have a clayey argillic horizon that is less than 63 centimeters (25 inches thick); on similar landforms
Fairview soils--have a redder subsoil and have a clayey argillic horizon that is less than 63 centimeters (25 inches thick); on similar landforms

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

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland and pasture
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--tobacco, corn, soybeans, small grains, hay, and orchards. Where wooded--upland oak, post oak, hickory, black gum, red maple, yellow-poplar, dogwood, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, and Eastern white pine.

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

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia and North Carolina
Extent: Moderate

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Halifax County, Virginia, 2003.

REMARKS: Nathalie soils were previously mapped as Appling soils. The creation of a mesic region within the southern Piedmont necessitated the establishment of a counterpart to the Appling series. Lab data supports the mineralogy classification of kaolinitic in this portion of MLRA 136, however identification of a kandic horizon is marginal and varied. Some of these soils have been mapped with the Buckhall series. Buckhall soils are not kandic and have mixed mineralogy with moderate shrink-swell potential. The April 2026 revision changed the format. No data was changed.

Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 23 centimeters (0 to 9 inches) (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 23 to 132 centimeters (9 to 52 inches) (BA, Bt, and BC horizons)
Kandic horizon--the zone from 23 to 132 centimeters (9 to 52 inches) (BA, Bt, and BC horizons)

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory Data: Reference data for particle-size and chemistry of the Bt horizon is available from Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, VA.
Database Information:
Typical Pedon Data Mapunit ID--103287

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.