LOCATION PICTURE NC
Established Series
JDV:RHB:DTA/Rev.DTA:JAK/DTA
08/2026
PICTURE SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Poorly drained
Index Surface Runoff: High
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Low
Shrink-Swell Potential: Very high
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Nearly level upland flats and depressions
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from Triassic mafic rocks, commonly diabase in dikes and sills
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Elevation (type location): 110 meters (361 feet)
Frost Free Period: 190 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 15 degrees C (59 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1118 millimeters (44 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, thermic Vertic Argiaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Picture loam--woodland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 8 centimeters (0 to 3 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) loam; gray (10YR 5/1) dry; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; slightly sticky, non-plastic; common fine and medium roots; common fine pores; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 30 centimeters (2 to 12 inches) thick)
AB--8 to 18 centimeters (3 to 7 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; few fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) mottles; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine and medium roots; common fine pores; common fine distinct black concretions; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches) thick)
Btg1--18 to 43 centimeters (7 to 17 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) clay loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common fine and medium distinct black concretions; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Btg2--43 to 61 centimeters (17 to 24 inches); dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm; very sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; common very fine pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few fine and medium distinct black concretions; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 38 to 76 centimeters (15 to 30 inches)
BCg--61 to 79 centimeters (24 to 31 inches); mottled 55 percent dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2), 25 percent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4), and 20 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) clay; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine pores; common fine and medium black concretions; 10 percent by volume gravel; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 51 centimeters (0 to 20 inches) thick)
Cg--79 to 124 centimeters (31 to 49 inches); mottled 65 percent dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2), 20 percent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4), and 15 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) sandy loam saprolite; massive; friable; slightly sticky, non-plastic; 5 percent by volume gravel; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
Cr--124 to 157 centimeters (49 to 62 inches); weathered, multicolored diabase bedrock
TYPE LOCATION: Granville County, North Carolina; 0.2 mile northwest of Butner on Secondary Road 1103, 0.6 mile southwest on Secondary Road 1111, 200 feet southeast of the road in a wooded area; USGS Creedmoor, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.1217
Longitude-- -78.7492
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of solum: 51 to 127 centimeters (20 to 50 inches)
Depth to Soft Bedrock: 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 15 to 46 centimeters (6 to 18 inches), November to May
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume, in the A horizon and 0 to 15 percent in the B and C horizons; most pedons have few to many black or dark colored iron-manganese concretions.
Mica Content: None or few flakes of mica
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to neutral in the A and B horizons and moderately acid to slightly alkaline in the C horizon
Other features: Some pedons have few to common slickensides in the lower B horizon.
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, chroma of 1 to 3. Mottles, if they occur, are in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture fine-earth fraction)--loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam
AB or BA horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 to 4, chroma of 1 to 3. Mottles, if they occur, are in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture--loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam.
Btg or Btssg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 1 or 2; or hue of N, value of 4 to 7. Mottles, if they occur are in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture--clay, sandy clay, clay loam, or silty clay
BCg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2; or hue of N, value of 4 to 8. Mottled pedons dominantly have chroma of 2 or less. Mottles, if they occur, are in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture--clay, sandy clay, silty clay, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
BC horizon, (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 3 to 8, or may be mottled in shades of these colors. Mottles, if they occur, are in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture--clay, sandy clay, silty clay, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 8, chroma of 1 or 2; or hue of N, value of 4 to 8. Mottled pedons dominantly have chroma of 2 or less. Mottles, if they occur, are in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture--sandy clay, silty clay, sandy clay loam, clay loam, or sandy loam
C horizon, (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 8, chroma of 3 to 8, or may be mottled in shades of these colors. Some pedons have mottles in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray.
Texture--sandy clay, silty clay, sandy clay loam, clay loam, or sandy loam
Cr horizon:
Color--Multicolored
Texture--weathered mafic rock. It is commonly diabase. Fractures are more than 4 inches apart and may contain loamy or sandy saprolite.
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no competing series
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Nearly level upland flats and depressions
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from Triassic mafic rocks, commonly diabase in dikes and sills
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Elevation: 107 meters to 366 meters (350 to 1,200 feet)
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 to 22 degrees C (59 to 71 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 965 to 1270 millimeters (38 to 50 inches)
Frost Free Period: 184 to 226 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Creedmoor soils--are moderately well drained to somewhat poorly drained and have mixed mineralogy
Enon soils--are well drained and have mixed mineralogy.
Iredell soils--are moderately well drained and have montmorillonitic mineralogy.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Poorly drained
Index Surface Runoff: High
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Pasture or woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded, water tolerant hardwoods and pines. Where cultivated, corn, cotton, or soybeans.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina and possibly South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia. The series is of small extent.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Granville County, North Carolina; 1993.
REMARKS: The Picture series was originally classified as fine, montmorillonitic, thermic Abruptic Agriaquolls but was changed in 1991 to Typic Argiaquolls based on transects and laboratory data from four pedons. The mineralogy of Picture soils by X-ray diffraction is marginal between mixed and montmorillonitic. However, CEC values per 100 grams of clay exceeds 50 throughout the control section and the CEC/clay ratio ranges from 0.5 to 0.9 for the type location. Available COLE values of the subsoil ranges from 0.10 to 0.15. This data indicates mineralogy would best be placed in a montmorillonitic family. The classification was changed in 1993 to Vertic Argiaquolls based on changes in taxonomic criteria for "Vertic" subgroups issued in the 1992 Keys to Soil Taxonomy. The August, 2026 revision updated the format. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Mollic epipedon--the zone from 0 to 43 centimeters (0 to 17 inches) (A, AB, and Btg1 horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 18 to 79 centimeters (7 to 31 inches) (Btg1, Btg2, and BCg horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Characterization data is available from the National Soil Survey Laboratory for the type location (S86NC-077-001) and three additional pedons (S86NC-077-002; S86NC-077-003; and S88NC-077-005).
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC0216 PICTURE 0-3 59- 71 184-226 38-50 300-450
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NC0216 NONE 0.5-1.5 PERCHED NOV-APR 40-60 SOFT
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
NC0216 0-7 L FSL SL 0-1 75-100 7-27 15-25
NC0216 0-7 CL SCL 0-1 75-100 27-40 15-30
NC0216 0-7 GR-L GR-FSL GR-SL 0-5 60-75 7-27 15-25
NC0216 7-31 C CL SC 0-1 75-100 30-60 25-45
NC0216 31-49 CL SCL SL 0-1 75-100 15-30 25-45
NC0216 49-62 WB - - - -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
NC0216 0-7 5.1-7.3 2.-8. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0216 0-7 5.1-7.3 2.-8. 0-0 0.06-0.6 MODERATE
NC0216 0-7 5.1-7.3 2.-8. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC0216 7-31 5.6-7.8 0.-.5 0-0 0.0-0.06 VERY HIGH
NC0216 31-49 5.6-7.8 0.-.5 0-0 0.06-0.2 MODERATE
NC0216 49-62 - - - -
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.