LOCATION OTEEN NCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic, shallow Dystric Eutrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Oteen fine sandy loam, on a west-facing convex slope of 45 percent, in a pasture at 1892 feet elevation. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 2 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common very fine roots; few fine and medium interstitial pores; common fine flakes of mica; 2 percent by volume migmatitic gneiss gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)
Bw--2 to 11 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine roots; few fine and medium interstitial pores; common fine flakes of mica; 10 percent by volume migmatitic gneiss gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 13 inches thick)
C--11 to 15 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy loam; saprolite weathered from migmatitic gneiss; massive rock-controlled structure; very friable; few very fine roots; common medium interstitial pores; common fine flakes of mica; 38 percent by volume migmatitic gneiss gravel; moderately acid; gradual irregular boundary. (0 to 7 inches thick)
Cr--15 to 42 inches; multicolored, weathered migmatitic gneiss bedrock; partially consolidated but can be dug with difficulty with hand tools.
TYPE LOCATION: Madison County, North Carolina; from Marshall 4.3 miles south on Secondary Road 1001, 1.2 mile southwest on Secondary Road 1114, 0.5 mile northeast on Secondary Road 1116, 0.3 mile east on Secondary Road 1115, 0.3 mile northeast on farm road to gate, 500 feet northeast on a west-facing convex slope of 45 percent, in a pasture at 1960 feet elevation; USGS Leicester topographic quadrangle; latitude 35 degrees 44 minutes 17 seconds N. and longitude 82 degrees 40 minutes 42 seconds W; NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum thickness ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Depth to a paralithic contact at the upper boundary of the Cr horizon ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Depth to a lithic contact is more than 20 inches. The soil is very strongly acid to neutral. Rock fragments range from 0 to 35 percent in the A and B horizons and from 0 to 40 percent in the C horizon. Content of mica flakes is few or common throughout.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. A horizons that have value of 3 or less are less than 7 inches thick. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine earth fraction. In moderately eroded pedons, this horizon has colors similar to the Bw horizon.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 or 6. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine earth fraction.
The BC horizon, where present, has colors and textures similar to the Bw horizon.
The C horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 8, and chroma of 4 to 8, or it is multicolored. Texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine earth fraction.
The Cr horizon is multicolored, weathered, mixed felsic and mafic, high-grade metamorphic rock such as migmatitic gneiss, biotite-hornblende gneiss, and amphibolite. It is partially consolidated, but can be dug with difficulty with hand tools. The upper boundary is considered as a paralithic contact where root spacing is greater than 4 inches.
The R horizon, where present, is hard, mixed felsic and mafic, high-grade metamorphic rock such as migmatitic gneiss, biotite-hornblende gneiss, and amphibolite.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Oteen soils are strongly sloping to very steep and are on ridges and side slopes in the Blue Ridge (MLRA 130). Elevation ranges from about 1600 to 3,500 feet. The slope gradient commonly is 15 to 50 percent but ranges from 8 to 95 percent. They formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and is weathered from mixed felsic and mafic, high-grade metamorphic rocks such as migmatitic gneiss, biotite-hornblende gneiss, and amphibolite. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 30 to 45 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Chestnut, Cowee, Edneyville, Evard, Marshill(T), Tate, and Walnut(T), series. None of these soils have bedrock within 20 inches of the surface. Chestnut and Edneyville soils have less than 60 percent base saturation. Cowee, Evard, and Tate soils have argillic horizons and less than 35 percent base saturation. Marshill(T) soils are deep and Walnut(T) soils are moderately deep to bedrock. All these soils except for Tate are on mountain ridges and side slopes. Tate soils are on colluvial footslopes, fans and benches. The Mars Hill(T) and Walnut(T) soils are associated locally on the mountain landscape with Oteen soils.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage is pasture. Forage crops include orchardgrass, red clover, lespedeza, tall fescue, and bluegrass. Common trees include eastern white pine, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, and hickory. Mountain laurel, flowering dogwood, sourwood, and eastern red cedar are common in the understory. A small acreage is used for small grain and burley tobacco.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Blue Ridge (MLRA 130) of North Carolina and possibly South Carolina and Virginia. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Buncombe County, North Carolina; 1982.
REMARKS: The November 1992 revision of this series changed the classification from Ultic Hapludalfs to Dystric Eutrochrepts. This is based on characterization data from the typical pedon -NSSL Pedon Number 91P0226. A dominance of the soils mapped Oteen have a cambic horizon and have more than 60 percent base saturation by NH4OAc in some horizon between 10 inches and paralithic contact by 20 inches. The 8/01 revision updates classification and places this series in a superactive CEC activity class based upon NSSL Pedon 91P0226.
Diagnostic features and horizons recognized in the typical pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 2 inches (Ap horizon)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 2 to 11 inches below the surface (Bw horizon)
Shallow paralithic contact - the occurrence of weathered bedrock at a depth of 15 inches (upper boundary of the Cr horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Selected NSSL data: NH4OAc
Horizon Depth(in) Sand Silt Clay pH1:1H2O Base Sat.% CEC7
------- --------- ---- ---- ---- ---------- --------
Ap 0 - 2 59.9 30.6 9.5 4.6 58
Bw 2 - 11 61.6 29.3 9.1 5.1 49
C 11 - 15 71.8 20.8 7.4 6.0 76
MLRA: 130 SIR: NC0107