LOCATION RONDA NC+VA
Established Series
RJL;DTA/Rev.DTA
04/2026
RONDA SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (mesic part), 148
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Excessively drained
Index Surface Runoff: Low to very low
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Very high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont floodplains
Landform: Adjacent to stream channels
Parent Material: Sandy alluvium washed from soils formed in residuum from schist, gneiss, granite, phyllite, and other metamorphic and igneous rocks. Slope: 0 to 6 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 14 degrees C (57 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1219 millimeters (48 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Typic Udipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Ronda loamy sand--field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loamy sand; weak medium granular structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots; common fine flakes of mica; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (15 to 38 centimeters (6 to 15 inches) thick)
C1--20 to 46 centimeters (8 to 18 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) loamy sand; massive; very friable; common fine roots; common fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
C2--46 to 152 centimeters (18 to 60 inches); very pale brown (10YR 7/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sand that has common lenses of dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) loamy sand; massive; very friable; few fine roots; common fine flakes of mica; moderately acid. (Combined thickness of the C horizons is 25 to 152 centimeters (10 to 60 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Wilkes County, North Carolina; about 0.3 mile south of the community of Roaring River on Secondary Road 2327; about 100 feet west of road and 150 feet northwest of bridge; in a field. USGS Roaring River, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.2014
Longitude-- -81.0064
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: Layers of gravel and cobbles are in the substrata of some pedons below a depth of 40 inches.
Mica Content: 2 to 20 percent, by volume, throughout
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to slightly acid, unless limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
The A and C horizons to a depth of 40 inches are sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. In addition, The C horizon may be fine sand within a depth of 40 inches. Below a depth of 40 inches, textures of the C horizon range from sand to loam or are stratified.
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, chroma of 2 to 6
Texture--sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
Ab horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, chroma of 2 to 6
Texture--sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
Bw horizon, (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8
Texture--sand, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand
C horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 8, chroma of 3 to 8. Chroma 2 or less mottles are in some pedons below a depth of 40 inches but are not iron depletions associated with wetness.
COMPETING SERIES:
Biltmore soils--are located in MLRA 130
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont floodplains
Landform: Adjacent to stream channels
Parent Material: Sandy alluvium washed from soils formed in residuum from schist, gneiss, granite, phyllite, and other metamorphic and igneous rocks. Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 15 degrees C (52 to 59 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 940 to 1752 millimeters (37 to 69 inches)
Frost Free Period: 180 to 250 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Codorus soils--are moderately well drained and fine-loamy
Comus soils--are coarse loamy
Dan River soils--are fine-loamy
Hatboro soils--are poorly drained and fine-loamy
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Excessively drained
Index Surface Runoff: Low to very low
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Very high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Pasture, cropland, and woodland.
Dominant vegetation: Where wooded--loblolly, longleaf, or shortleaf pines. Natural vegetation consists mainly of hardwoods such as sweetgum, oaks, birch, elm, ash, hickory, yellow- poplar, sycamore, and willow trees.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina and Virginia.
Extent: Moderate
SERIES Established: Wilkes County, North Carolina; 2008.
REMARKS: Ronda soils were formerly included with the Buncombe series. Due to the establishment of a mesic/thermic line in MLRA 136, Ronda is proposed as a mesic replacement for Buncombe. The April 2026 revision changed the format. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 20 centimeters (0-8 inches) (Ap horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
RONDA 0-6 52-59 180-250 37-69 300-700
FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
RARE FREQ >6.0 - >60
Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
0-8 LS LFS S 0-0 98-100 3-12 2-10
8-60 LS LFS S 0-0 98-100 3-12 1-10
Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
0-8 4.5-6.5 .5-1. 0-0 6.0-20 LOW
8-60 4.5-6.5 0.-.5 0-0 6.0-20 LOW
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.