LOCATION SHOTTOWER VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, mesic Typic Paleudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Shottower loam - on a 3 percent convex west-facing slope in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) loam; moderate medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; 10 percent rounded rock fragments; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)
Bt1--10 to 19 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable, sticky, plastic; 3 percent rounded rock fragments; common faint clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--19 to 40 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; many coarse distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/6) mottles; strong fine subangular blocky structure; friable, sticky, plastic; 5 percent rounded rock fragments; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; diffuse smooth boundary.
Bt3--40 to 72 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) clay; common coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) mottles; strong fine subangular blocky structure; firm, sticky, plastic; 10 percent rounded rock fragments; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 60 to 90 inches.)
TYPE LOCATION: Wythe County, Virginia; about 0.83 mile southeast of the junction of VA-630 and VA-631 and 1.25 miles southwest of the junction of US-52 and VA-619.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to bedrock are more than 60 inches. Rounded rock fragments of sandstone and quartzite range from 0 to 35 percent in the A and Bt horizons, and from 0 to 60 percent below 40 inches. Reaction ranges from extremely acid through moderately acid.
The A horizon, where present, is less than 3 inches thick and has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Ap horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction, with silty clay loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam in severely eroded areas.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10R through 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, clay loam or sandy clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: Christiana, Dunmore, and Tumbling series are in the same family. Christiana soils formed in unconsolidated sediments on the upper coastal plain and do not have rock fragments. Dunmore soils formed in residuum from limestones and dolomites and rock fragments are dominantly chert. Tumbling soils formed in colluvium and have semirounded rock fragments.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Shottower soils are on high stream terraces. Slopes range from 2 to 35 percent. The soils formed in old alluvium derived primarily from materials weathered from limestones, shales, siltstones, sandstones, and quartzites mixed with materials derived from crystalline rocks. Mean annual air temperature is 55 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation is 42 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Allegheny, Austinville, Frederick, Groseclose, Litz, Marbie, and Wyrick series. Allegheny soils have less clay in the subsoil and are on low stream terraces. Austinville soils have darker subsoils and are on convex uplands. Chiswell and Litz soils are more shallow to bedrock and are on convex uplands. Frederick soils are on convex uplands with no rounded gravel or cobbles. Groseclose soils have thinner sola and occur on convex uplands. Marbie soils have Bx horizons and are in upland drainageways and depressions. Wyrick soils have less clay in the subsoil and are in upland drainageways and depressions.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is slow to rapid. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for cropland. Major crops are corn, small grain, hay, and pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Limestone valleys in Virginia and possibly West Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wythe County, Virginia, 1989.
REMARKS: Soils now within the range of the Shottower series were previously correlated as Braddock, Hiwassee, Masada, and Unison series in published soil surveys.
Lab data for the typical pedon has 52 percent kaolinite in the mineralogy control section.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are: 1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 10 inches (Ap horizon). 2. Argillic horizon - the zone from 10 to 72 inches (Bt horizon).
SIR = VA0275, VA0278 (COBBLY) MLRA = 128 REVISED 4/26/89; 9/08-increased slope range from 30% to 35%