LOCATION PFAFFTOWN NC+VA
Established Series
RJL; DTA
05/2026
PFAFFTOWN SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (mesic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Flooding Frequency and Duration: Occasional, rare, very rare, or none for very brief or brief periods, December to June
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible to medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Shrink-swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont river valleys
Landform: Stream terraces
Parent Material: Alluvium
Slope: 0 to 10 percent
Elevation (type location): 301 meters (989 feet)
Frost Free Period (type location): 195 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 13 degrees C (55 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 120 millimeters (50 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Pfafftown fine sandy loam--on a 3 percent slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; few fine roots; few fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 30 centimeters (6 to 12 inches) thick)
BA--25 to 51 centimeters (10 to 20 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; few fine roots; few fine flakes of mica; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 30 centimeter (0 to 12 inches) thick)
Bt--51 to 97 centimeters (20 to 38 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; few distinct clay films on faces of peds; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (46 to 102 centimeters (18 to 40 inches) thick)
BC--97 to 147 centimeters (38 to 58 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few fine roots; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 51 centimeters (0 to 20 inches) thick)
C--147 to 183 centimeters (58 to 72 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) loamy sand; single grain; loose; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Wilkes County, North Carolina; about 2.0 miles west of Wilkesboro on NC Highway 268; about 400 feet north of the highway; in a cultivated field. USGS Wilkesboro, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.1361
Longitude-- -81.2014
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of the Argillic horizon: 20 to 48 centimeters (8 to 19 inches)
Depth to the base of the Argillic horizon: 76 to 152 centimeters (30 to 60 inches) or more
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 107 to 183 centimeters (42 to 72 inches), December to June
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 203 centimeters (80 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 2 percent in the A and B horizon and 0 to 25 percent in the C horizon; mostly quartz pebbles (non-flooded phase); 0 to 35 percent in the A and B horizon and 0 to 50 percent in the C horizon (flooded phases)
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to strongly acid in the A and upper B horizon and extremely acid to slightly acid in the lower B horizon and C horizon, unless limed
Other Features: 0 to 20 percent mica, throughout
Range of Individual Horizons:
Ap horizon or A horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6. Where value is less than 3, it is less than 15 centimeters (6 inches) thick.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture--loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
BA or BE (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture--coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or sandy clay loam
Bt horizon (upper):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam, including thin horizons of sandy loam or silt loam
Bt horizon (lower):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8, or is variegated without dominant matrix hue
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam, including thin horizons of sandy loam or silt loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of gray, yellow, or brown
BC horizon or CB horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8, or is variegated in shades of these colors with or without dominant matrix color
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of gray, yellow, or brown
C horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 3 to 8, or is variegated in shades of these colors with or without dominant matrix color
Texture (fine earth fraction)--loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam and may be stratified with finer or coarser textured materials
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of gray, yellow, or brown
Cg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 8, and may be variegated in shades of these colors with or without dominant matrix color
Texture (fine earth fraction)--loamy fine sand, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam and may be stratified with finer or coarser textured materials
Redoximorphic features--masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of gray, yellow, or brown
2C horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 3 to 8, or is variegated in shades of these colors with or without dominant matrix color
Texture (fine earth fraction)--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy coarse sand, or loamy sand and may be stratified with finer or coarser textured materials
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of gray, yellow, or brown
2Cg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 8, and may be variegated in shades of these colors with or without dominant matrix color
Texture (fine earth fraction)--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy coarse sand, or loamy sand and may be stratified with finer or coarser textured materials
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of gray, yellow, or brown
COMPETING SERIES:
Drapermill soils--have hard bedrock at a depth of 51 to 192 centimeters (20 to 40 inches) and formed in residuum from phyllite or schist on uplands
Elsinboro soils--have more silt in the subsoil and formed in loamy mica bearing alluvium
Milldraper soils--have hard bedrock at a depth of 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches) and formed in residuum from schist and phyllite and occur on side slopes and nose slopes
Rhodhiss soils--formed in material weathered from acid crystalline rock and occur on uplands
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont river valleys
Landform: Stream terraces
Parent Material: Alluvium
Slope: 0 to 10 percent
Elevation: 152 to 305 meters (500 to 1000 feet)
Frost Free Period: 195 to 260 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to degrees C (52 to 59 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 889 to 1397 millimeters (35 to 55 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Banister soils--are clayey and moderately well drained with a seasonal high water table at 30 to 76 centimeters (12 to 30 inches); on flats and in depressions
Codorus soils--are somewhat poorly drained soils with a seasonal high water table at 15 to 61 centimeters (6 to 24 inches); on adjacent floodplains
Comus soils--are coarse-loamy; on adjacent floodplains
Danripple soils--are clayey and well drained with seasonal high water table below 183 centimeters (72 inches); on similar landscapes
Dan River soils--are well drained to moderately well drained soils with a seasonal high water table at 76 to 122 centimeters (30 to 48 inches); on floodplains and at the base of slopes
Ronda soils--are sandy throughout and somewhat excessively drained with a seasonal high water table below 183 centimeters (72 inches); on natural levees
Wate soils--are clayey and somewhat poorly drained with a seasonal high water table at 30 to 46 centimeters (12 to 18 inches); on lower landscapes
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Flooding Frequency and Duration: Occasional, rare, very rare, or none for very brief or brief periods, December to June
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible to medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Cropland and woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--corn, soybeans, peanuts, small grain, flue-cured tobacco, and vegetables. Where wooded--white oak, red oak, American beech, elm, sycamore, American holly, sweetgum, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, and yellow-poplar.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina and Virginia
Extent: Moderate
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wilkes County, North Carolina, 2009
REMARKS: Pfafftown soils were previously mapped as State soils. The April 1997 relocation of the mesic/thermic line necessitated the establishment of the mesic counterpart. The May 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 51 centimeters (0 to 20 inches) (Ap and BA horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 51 to 97 centimeters (20 and 38 inches) (Bt horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Typical Pedon Data Mapunit ID--459778
Benchmark status: No
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
PFAFFTOWN 0-10 52-59 195-260 35-55 400-1000
FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock
NONE OCCAS 4.0-6.0 APPARENT DEC-JUN >80
Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
0-20 FSL SL 0-0 95-100 5-15
0-20 SIL L 0-0 95-100 10-18
0-20 LS LFS 0-0 95-100 2-8
20-38 L CL SCL 0-0 95-100 18-34
38-58 FSL SL 0-0 95-100 5-15
58-72 SR S FSL 0-0 60-100 2-15
Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
0-20 3.5-5.5 0.5-2.0 0-0 0.6-6.0 LOW
0-20 3.5-5.5 0.5-2.0 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
0-20 3.5-5.5 0.5-1.0 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
20-38 3.5-5.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
38-58 3.5-5.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
58-72 3.5-6.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 2.0-20 LOW
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.