LOCATION OAK LEVEL VA+NC
Established Series
HLG-DHE-JCN/Rev. JAK/DTA
06/2026
OAK LEVEL 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: Moderate
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from mixed felsic and mafic metamorphic and igneous rocks
Slope: 0 to 25 percent
Elevation (type location): 124 meters (407 feet)
Frost Free Period (type location): 190 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 13 degrees C (56 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1067 millimeters (42 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Oak Level loam (in an area of Oak Level loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes), in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches); reddish brown (5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; slightly acid, clear wavy boundary.
Bt1--20 to 46 centimeters (8 to 18 inches); red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine roots; common distinct clay films on all faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--46 to 81 centimeters (18 to 32 inches); red (2.5YR 4/8) clay; few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) non-redoximorphic mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine roots; common distinct clay films on all faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt3--81 to 107 centimeters (32 to 42 inches); red (2.5YR 4/8) clay loam; few medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) non-redoximorphic mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few distinct clay films on all faces of peds; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 63 to 114 centimeters (25 to 45 inches) thick.)
BC--107 to 127 centimeters (42 to 50 inches); yellowish red (5YR 5/8) loam; few medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) non-redoximorphic mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine prominent non-cemented iron-manganese masses; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
C--127 to 165 centimeters (50 to 65 inches); yellowish red (5YR 5/8) loam saprolite; few medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) non-redoximorphic mottles; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few fine prominent non-cemented iron-manganese masses; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Halifax County, Virginia; about 1,000 feet south from the intersection of Secondary Roads 711 and 710 and 1,250 feet east from Secondary Road 710 and railroad tracks, in a cultivated field; USGS Cluster Springs, Virginia topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.5664
Longitude-- -78.9361
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of Argillic horizon: 10 to 38 centimeters (4 to 15 inches)
Depth to base of Argillic horizon: 63 to 127 centimeters (25 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 25 percent, by volume, in the A and E horizon; 0 to 15 percent in the Bt and BC horizon; and 0 to 25 percent in the C horizon
Mica content: None to common in the B and C horizons
Soil Reaction: Strongly acid to slightly acid in the A and Bt horizon and moderately acid to neutral in the BC and C horizon, unless limed
Other Soil Features: Linear extensibility percentage (LEP) of the heaviest textured subsurface horizon is 3 to 6. Silt content of the particle-size control section is less than 30 percent. Content of manganese concretions ranges from 0 to 20 percent throughout the soil.
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
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam, loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam
BA or BE horizon (if they occur):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color (upper part)--10R or 2.5YR, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Hue ranges to 5YR if there are few to many non-redoximorphic mottles.
Color (lower part)--2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay loam or clay
Mottles (if they occur)--non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of red, brown, yellow, or white; mostly in the lower Bt horizon
BC horizon or BCt horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--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--variable and commonly do not have a dominant color
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam saprolite
COMPETING SERIES:
Rasalo soils--have moderately low saturated hydraulic conductivity class, high shrink swell potential, and Bt horizons with hue of 5YR or browner; on similar landforms
Zion soils--have a depth to hard bedrock of 51 to 102 centimeters (20 to 40 inches); on similar landforms
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from mixed felsic and mafic metamorphic and igneous rocks
Slope: 0 to 25 percent
Elevation: 107 to 305 meters (350 to 1,000 feet)
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 13 degrees C (52 to 56 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1016 to 1270 millimeters (40 to 50 inches)
Frost Free Period: 165 to 200 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Casville soils--are brown and have a lower base saturation; on similar landforms
Spriggs soils--are moderately deep to bedrock and are fine-loamy; on similar landforms
Minnieville soils--have moderate permeability and lower base saturation; on similar landforms
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 and pasture
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, soybeans, small grains, hay, and tobacco. Where wooded--upland oaks (white, black, red, and scarlet oak), red maple, black gum, dogwood, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, and loblolly pine
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia and North Carolina
Extent: Moderate
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Halifax County, Virginia, 2004.
REMARKS: Oak Level soils were previously mapped as Mecklenburg soils. The creation of a mesic region within the southern Piedmont (MLRA 136) necessitated that a new series be established as a counterpart to the Mecklenburg series. The June 2026 revision changed the format. 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 107 centimeters (8 to 42 inches) (Bt horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA: None
Database Information:
Typical Pedon Data Mapunit ID--103347
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.