LOCATION ROANE TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Glossic Fragiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Roane gravelly loam-pasture. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly loam; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; 20 percent fragments of chert 1/4 to 3 inches across; few fine dark concretions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--6 to 20 inches; brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) gravelly loam; few fine faint strong brown mottles; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; 25 percent fragments of chert 1/4 to 3 inches across; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 24 inches thick)
Bx/E--20 to 35 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very gravelly clay loam (B part), coarse prisms separated by 1/4 to 2 inches wide tapering wedges of mottled gray silt loam (E part); prisms part into weak medium platy and subangular blocky peds; very firm and brittle in about 80 percent of the cross section; many fine to coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redox concentrations, and very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) redox depletions; patchy clay films within prisms; few fine roots in wedges; 50 percent angular and partly rounded fragments of chert 1/4 to 3 inches across; few quartzite gravel; strongly acid. (12 to 24 inches thick)
Bx--35 to 65 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3), very gravelly clay loam, weak coarse prisms 3 to 8 inches across separated by tapered wedges of gray silt loam; prisms part to weak medium and coarse platy and subangular blocky structure; firm and brittle in about 80 percent of the cross section; common medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6), and red (2.5YR 4/8) redox concentrations, and distinct light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) redox depletions; few veins of grayish clay and patchy clay films on peds within prisms; few fine roots in wedges; 65 percent angular and partly rounded fragments of chert less than 3 inches across; few quartzite gravel; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Hamilton County, Tennessee; in Midway Community; 0.3 mile south of Midway Church; 150 feet west of ford in creek.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the fragipan ranges from about 15 to 40 inches. Amount of angular fragments of chert and rounded gravel ranges from about 15 to 30 percent by volume in the layers above the fragipan and from 35 to 65 percent in the fragipan. Size of fragments is mostly less than 3 inches across but some are as large as 10 inches. Reaction is strongly acid or very strongly acid throughout the soil except for the surface layer where limed.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. Horizons with value of 3 are less than 6 inches thick. The fine earth fraction of the A horizon is loam or silt loam.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. The fine earth fraction is clay loam, loam, or silty clay loam.
The Bx horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 3 to 6. Mottled are in shades of yellow, brown, red, and gray. The fine earth fraction is clay loam, loam, or silty clay loam. There appears to be some cementation of coarse fragments with silica but they slake in water.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Wynnville series in the same family and the
Cane,
Cloudland,
Lax,
Locust,
Nixa,
Stemley, and
Tarklin series in closely related families. Wynnville soils have less than 15 percent coarse fragments.
Cane is a Typic Fragiudult, Cloudland and Stemley are coarse-loamy, Lax is fine-silty, Locust has mixed mineralogy, Nixa is loamy-skeletal, and Tarklin is a Typic Fragiudult.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Roane soils formed in gravelly alluvium in drainageways, and on flood plains of small streams, terraces, and toe slopes. Slopes are mostly 0 to 6 percent but ranges from 0 to 12 percent. Near the type location mean annual temperature is 60 degrees F. and mean annual precipitation is 53 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bodine, Ennis, Fullerton, Lobelville, and Minvale series. Bodine and Fullerton soils, on the uplands, and Minvale soils, on the foot slopes, have argillic horizons and do not have fragipans. Ennis and Lobelville soils are on flood plains and have a cambic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; medium runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the acreage is cleared and used for pasture with small areas of corn, hay, and garden crops. The forested areas are mixed hardwoods with a few pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Appalachian ridges and Valleys MLRA in TN and possibly in AL and GA.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Roane County, TN; 1938. Made inactive in 1972 and reestablished in Hamilton County, TN 5/80.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - 0 to 6 inches (Ap horizon
Cambic horizon - 6 to 20 inches (Bw horizon)
Glossic feature - 20 to 35 inches (Bx/E horizon)
Fragipan - 20 to 65 inches (Bx/E and Bx horizons)