LOCATION ORANGE VA+NC
Established Series
NAM, Rev. MHC
12/2015
ORANGE SERIES
MLRA(s): 136, 148
MLRA Soil Survey Regional Office (MO) Responsible: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): somewhat poorly drained to moderately well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: shallow to moderately deep, common
Index Surface Runoff: very high
Permeability: very slow to slow
Landscape: Piedmont
Landform: uplands
Hillslope Profile Position: summits, shoulders, back slopes
Geomorphic Component: interfluves, side slopes
Parent Material: residuum from basic rocks or mixed acid and basic rocks
Slope: 0 to 15 percent
Elevation (type location):
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 57 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 42 inches
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Albaquic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Orange loam-forested (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 5 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam; moderate fine granular structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common coarse and many fine and medium roots; many fine tubular pores; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)
E--5 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; many medium and fine roots; common fine tubular pores; 2 percent fine manganese concretions; moderately acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--10 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very firm, very sticky, very plastic; few fine and medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; common fine distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--24 to 28 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) clay; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very firm, sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common faint clay films on faces of peds; few fine prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; common fine green and black flakes of basic rock; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (combined thickness of Bt horizons is 15 to 40 inches)
C--28 to 42 inches; olive (5Y 5/4) sandy clay loam saprolite; many medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) and dark greenish gray (5GY 4/1) mottles; massive; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; common pressure faces with few prominent clay flows; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
Cr--42 to 55 inches; olive (5Y 5/3), brownish yellow (10YR 6/6), and dark greenish gray (5G 4/1) weathered hornblende gneiss. (2 to 30 inches thick)
R--55 inches; dark greenish gray hard hornblende gneiss.
TYPE LOCATION: Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1,000 yards south of the intersection of VA-713 and the Southern Railroad tracks and 40 yards west of VA-713.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Soft Bedrock: 40 to 55 inches
Depth to Hard Bedrock: 40 to 60 or more inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 00 to 00 inches, Month to Month
Rock Fragment content: mostly quartz or basic rock gravel, make up 0 to 35 percent of the A, E, BA, BE, Bt, and BC horizons. Weathered basic rock fragments up to channer-size make up 0 to 60 percent of the CB and C horizons
Soil Reaction: A, E, BA, BE, and Bt horizons range from strongly acid through slightly acid and the BC, CB, and C horizons range from moderately acid through mildly alkaline except where limed
Other Features: Most pedons have dark concretions in the solum
Range of Individual Horizons:
A or Ap horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
E horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
BA or BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 2 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- sandy loam through clay
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Some sub-horizons are mottled without dominant matrix color
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- dominantly clay, but ranges to include clay loam, silty clay loam, and silty clay
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shade of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray
BC or CB horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, chroma of 2 to 8 or are mottled without dominant matrix hue
Texture (fine-earth fraction)-- clay loam or clay
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shade of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray
Cr horizon:
Color: commonly is multicolored
Other Features: partially weathered, fractured basic igneous and metamorphic rock.
R horizon:
Other Features: unweathered, hard, slightly fractured basic igneous and metamorphic rock.
COMPETING SERIES:
No other known soils in same family
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont
Landform: upland
Hillslope Profile Position: summit, shoulder, back slope
Geomorphic Component: interfluve, side slope
Parent Material: residuum from fine-grain quartz monzonite, hornblende, hornblende gneiss, schist, dacite, diorites, and similar rock materials
Elevation: 250 to 800 feet
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 55 to 59 degrees
Mean Annual Precipitation: 40 to 45 inches
Frost Free Period: 175 to 210 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Halifax soils--very deep and are derived from felsic crystalline residuum and have less than 35 percent base saturation
Jackland soils--very deep
Rasalo soils--very deep
Redbrush soils--well drained and have a depth to lithic contact of 20 to 40 inches
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class (Agricultural): somewhat poorly drained to moderately well drained
Index Surface Runoff: very high
Internal Free Water Occurrence: shallow to moderately deep, common
Permeability: very slow to slow
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: forest, small acreage of cropland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated-- corn, small grain, and pasture. Where wooded-- oak, red maple, red cedar, Virginia pine and shortleaf pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia and North Carolina.
Extent: moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Orange County, Virginia, 1927.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 10 inches (Ap and E horizons)
Albaquic feature-- abrupt textural change at 10 inches and low chroma mottles in upper 10 inches of Bt horizon
Argillic horizon--the zone from 10 to 28 inches (Bt horizons)
Aquic conditions--the soil has redox depletions and concentrations within the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon, with periodic saturation and reduction at some time during the year
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 55 inches
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Data Map Unit ID (type location):
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
ORANGE 0- 15 55- 59 175-210 40- 45 250- 800
FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NONE 1.0-3.0 PERCHED DEC-MAY 40-60 HARD
NONE 1.0-3.0 APPARENT DEC-MAY 40-60 SOFT
Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
0-10 SIL L 0- 0 75-100 10-27 -
0-10 FSL SL 0- 0 75-100 5-20 -
0-10 STV-SIL STV-L 5- 25 85- 95 10-27 -
0-10 STV-FSL 5- 25 85- 95 10-20 -
0-10 GR-SIL GR-L 0- 15 60- 75 10-25 -
0-10 GR-FSL GR-SL 0- 15 60- 75 5-20 -
10-28 C SIC CN-SICL 0- 0 50- 95 35-60 -
28-42 SL CNV-SIL SCL 0- 40 40-100 10-35 -
42-55 WB - - - -
55-65 UWB - - - -
Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
0-10 5.1- 6.5 1.-3. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
0-10 5.1- 6.5 1.-3. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
0-10 5.1- 6.5 1.-3. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
0-10 5.1- 6.5 1.-3. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
0-10 5.1- 6.5 1.-3. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
0-10 5.1- 6.5 .5-2. 0- 0 0.6- 2.0 LOW
10-28 5.1- 6.5 0.-.5 0- 0 0.06- 0.2 HIGH
28-42 5.6- 7.8 0.-.5 0- 0 0.2- 0.6 LOW
42-55 - - - 0.00-0.06
55-65 - - - 0.00-0.01
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.