LOCATION OTT VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Ott silt loam (Color are for moist soils)
Ap1--0 to 5 inches; very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots, common fine and medium irregular pores; 10 percent subangular thermally altered shale fine gravels; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
Ap2--5 to 9 inches; very dark gray (2.5Y 3/1) silt loam; weak medium subangulae blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots, common fine and medium irregular pores; 10 percent subangular thermally altered shale fine gravels; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bt--9 to 16 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) channery silt loam; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, common fine and medium roots; few fine and medium irregular pores; few faint discontinuous very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2), moist, clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent subangular thermally altered shale channers; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
C--16 to 24 inches; very dark gray (7.5YR 3/1) very channery silt loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine interstitial pores; 55 percent subangular thermally altered shale channers; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Cr--24 to 31 inches; bluish gray (10B 5/1) fractured, thermally altered shale, reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) silt coatings in fracture planes.
R--31 to 41 inches; thermally altered shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Fauquier County, Virginia. USGS topographic quadrangle; lat. 38 degrees 31 minutes 32.3 seconds N. and long. 78 degrees 0 minutes 49.9 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the base of the argillic horizon ranges from 15 to 30 inches. Depth to the paralithic and lithic contact ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Reaction is moderately acid through neutral throughout.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5, chroma of 1 through 4. It is loam or silt loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 20 percent.
Some pedons have an A horizon with hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5, chroma of 1 through 4. It is loam or silt loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 20 percent.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 3 through 5, chroma of 2 through 8. It is loam, silt loam, clay loam or silty clay loam. Average clay content ranges from 18 to 35 percent. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 35 percent.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR through neutral and 5PR, value of 3 through 6, chroma of 0 through 7. It is loam or silt loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 0 to 70 percent.
The Cr horizon is partially weathered thermally altered shale that can be dug with hand tools.
The R horizon is indurated thermally altered shale.
COMPETING SERIES: Bluemount, Caprell, Coggon, Douds, Grellton, Kendallville, Kliever, Letort, Lindley, Mundeville, McHenry, Nodine, Nordon, Pecatonica, Plumcreek, Rockbridge, Westville, Whalan, Wykoff soils are in the same family. Bluemount soils form in residuum of mafic crystalline rock in the southern piedmont. Mundeville soils form in acid micaceous shale. Nordon soils form in residuum of glauconitic sandstone. Whalan soils form in glacial till over limenstone. Coggon, Grellton, Nodine and Wykof soils are deep to bedrock. Coggon, Grellton and Wykof soils form in glacial deposits. Nodine soils form in loess over pedisediments. Caprell, Douds, Kendallville, Kliever, Letort, Lindley, McHenry, Pecatonia, Plumcreek, Renova, Rockbridge and Westville soils are very deep to bedrock. Caprell, Lindley, McHenry, Pecatonia, Renova and Westville soils form in loess over glacial till. Douds, Kliever and Plumcreek soils form in alluvium. Kendallville soils form in loess, outwash and till. Letort soils form in interbedded micaceous limestone, graphitic phyllite and schist. Rockbridge soils form in residuum of sandstone.
Chenault, Conestoga, Hebron, Hollinger, Leroy, Mifflin, Military, Nollsville, Owosso, Relay, Skelton, Theresa and Woodbine soils are in a related family. They may become competitors as their classification is updated to the eighth edition of soil taxonomy. Chenault, Hebron, Leroy, Mifflin, Nollville, Owosso, Rlay, Skelton, Theresa and Woodbine are deep to bedrock. Chenault and Skelton soils form in alluvium. Hebron soils form in glacial outwash. Leroy and Theresa form in loess over glacial till. Mifflin soils form in residuum of sandy dolomite or limestone. Nollsville soils form in residuum of argillaceous limestone and limy shale. Owosso soils form in glaciofluvium. Relay soil form in basic Piedmont rock. Woodbine soils form in loess over limestone residuum. Conestoga, Hollinger and Military are very deep to bedrock. Conestoga soils form in micaeous limestone. Hollinger soils form in micaceous limestone, calcereous schist and phyllite. Military soils form in glacial till.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ott soils form in residuum of Triassic and Jurassic bluish gray thermally altered shale and are on side slopes of ridges in the Culpeper Basin of the Northern Piedmont. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 38 to 44 inches and mean annual temperature ranges 53 to 57 degrees F. Elevation ranges from 150 to 800 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alabano, Kelly and Sycoline soils. Albano and Kelly have more than 35 percent clay in the argillic horizon and are more than 40 inches to paralithic or lithic contact. Sycoline soils have the seasonal high water table between 20 and 40 inches.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is low through very high. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for cropland, pastureland, hayland and woodland. Woodland vegetation consists of Virginia pine, eastern red cedar, flowering dogwood, oaks, and hickory.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 148. In the Culpeper Triassic - Jurassic Basin in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES PROPOSED: Fauquier County, Virginia. 1999.
REMARKS: Ott soils were previously included in Sycoline and Catlett map units.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1) Ochric epipedon - from the surface to 9 inches (Ap or A horizon)
2) Argillic horizon - from 9 to 16 inches (Bt horizon)
3) Paralithic contact at 24 inches (Cr horizon)
4) Lithic contact at 31 inches (R horizon)