LOCATION RHODHISS NC+VA
Established Series
DTK/MHC/JAK/DTA
01/2019
RHODHISS SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (mesic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very deep
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Low to high
Permeability: Moderate
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Hill, ridge
Geomorphic Component: Interfluve, side slope, nose slope
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, back slope
Parent Material: Residuum from felsic crystalline rock
Slope: 2 to 95 percent
Elevation (type location): Unknown feet
Frost Free Period (type location): 176 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 56 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 46 inches
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Rhodhiss sandy loam (in an area of Rhodhiss sandy loam, 25 to 45 percent slopes), on a 32 percent west-facing slope, in recently planted pines. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, brown 10YR 5/3, dry; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and common medium roots; few fine mica flakes; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)
E--3 to 8 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; few fine and medium roots; common fine mica flakes; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 14 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common fine mica flakes; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--14 to 25 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common fine mica flakes; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 10 to 40 inches.)
BC--25 to 30 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)
C--30 to 60 inches; variegated yellow, olive, gray, and brown sandy loam saprolite; massive; very friable; strongly acid;.
TYPE LOCATION: Burke County, North Carolina; about 3.2 miles north of Morganton on North Carolina Highway 18 from the Catawba River bridge; about 0.1 mile northwest on Secondary Road 1430; about 1.6 miles northwest on Secondary Road 1462; about 1.1 miles southwest on Secondary Road 1435 to farm house at end of road; about 600 feet south on farm road from cabled gate, about 100 feet east on side slope, in forest; USGS Morganton North, NC topographic quadrangle; lat. 35 degrees 48 minutes 30 seconds N. and long. 81 degrees 41 minutes 46 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of Argillic horizon: 2 to 20 inches
Depth to base of Argillic horizon: 20 to 60 inches or more
Thickness of Argillic horizon: 10 to 40 inches
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 60 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 60 inches
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume in the A and E horizons and 0 to 20 percent in the B and C horizon; mostly gravel
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to slightly acid, unless limed
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume mica flakes, throughout. Some pedons have C horizons, below a depth of 40 inches, that range to 35 percent mica flakes.
Range of Individual Horizons:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 2 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sandy loam, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
E horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam
BA and AB horizon (if they occur):
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--typically, sandy clay loam or clay loam and includes coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam. Some pedons have thin layers of sandy clay.
Non-redoximorphic mottles (if they occur)--in shades of in brown, red, yellow, or gray
BC horizon or BCt horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sandy loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Mottles (if they occur)--non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of in brown, red, yellow, or gray. The gray and white mottles are commonly highly weathered rock material.
C/B horizon (if it occurs):
C part--same properties as C horizon
B part--same properties as Bt or BC horizon
Mottles (if they occur)--non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of in brown, red, yellow, or gray. The gray and white mottles are commonly highly weathered rock material.
C horizon or Ct horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sandy loam, loamy sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam
Mottles (if they occur)--non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of in brown, red, yellow, or gray. The gray and white mottles are commonly highly weathered rock material.
COMPETING SERIES:
Allegheny soils--formed in old loamy alluvium from acid sandstone, siltstone, and shale in MLRAs 125, 126, 127, 128
Chetwynd soils--formed in loamy outwash over sandy outwash capped with loess in MLRAs 114, 115
Drapermill soils--are moderately deep to bedrock and formed in residuum from phyllite and schist
Frankstown soils--formed in residuum from siliceous limestone and interbedded limy shale and siltstone in MLRAs 125, 126, 127
Gilpin soils--formed in residuum from interbedded shale, siltstone, and some sandstone in MLRAs 125, 126, 127, 128
Gilwood soils-- formed in residuum from siltstone in MLRA 120
Glenelg soils--formed in residuum from micaceous schist and contain a significantly higher silt content
Hickoryknob soil--are moderately deep and formed in residuum from mica schist and mica gneiss
Reybold soils--formed in silty eolian deposits over sandy and loamy fluviomarine sediments in MLRAs 153C, 153D
Tate soils--formed in alluvium and colluvium from felsic to mafic crystalline rocks in MLRA 130
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Hill, ridge
Geomorphic Component: Interfluve, side slope, nose slope
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, back slope
Parent Material: Residuum from felsic crystalline rock
Slope: 2 to 95 percent
Elevation: 400 to 1600 feet
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 52 to 57 degrees
Mean Annual Precipitation: 40 to 55 inches
Frost Free Period: 160 to 190 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Bannertown soils--have less clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
Clifford soils--have more clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
Fairview soils--have more clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
Huddleston soil--have higher mica content; on similar landforms
Perryville soils--have less clay in the argillic horizon, a higher mica content, and are moderately deep; on similar landforms
Poplar Forest soils--have more clay in the argillic horizon and higher mica content; on similar landforms
Toast soils--have more clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
Westfield soils--are deep to bedrock and have more clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
Woolwine soils--are moderately deep to bedrock and have more clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
Yanceyville soils--are very deep to bedrock and have less clay in the argillic horizon; on similar landforms
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Depth Class: Very deep (greater than 60 inches) to bedrock
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very deep
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Low to high
Permeability: Moderate
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--small grain, hay, and pasture. Where wooded--pine and mixed hardwoods.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina and Virginia
Extent: Moderate
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Burke County, North Carolina; 2003.
REMARKS: The Rhodhiss series was previously mapped with the Rion series. The April 1997 relocation of the mesic/thermic line in North Carolina and Virginia necessitated the establishment of the Rhodhiss series as a mesic counterpart to the Rion series.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 8 inches (A and E horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 8 to 25 inches (Bt horizons)
Other soil features identified with this pedon:
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 60 inches
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory Data: No laboratory data available.
Database Information:
Typical Pedon Data Mapunit ID--84454
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
RHODHISS 2-60 52-57 160-205 40-55 400-1600
FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
None >60 -- - >60 --
Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
0-3 LCOS SL FSL L 0 80-100 5-27
3-8 LCOS SL FSL L 0 80-100 5-27
8-25 SCL CL 0 80-100 20-40
25-30 SL L SCL CL 0 80-100 10-35
30-60 LS SL FSL SCL 0 80-100 5-27
Depth -pH- -O.M.- Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
0-3 4.5-6.5 0.5-2.0 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
3-8 4.5-6.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
8-60 4.5-6.5 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.