LOCATION TANGIER MD
Established Series
SYD/Rev. SYD-PSK-DTA
06/2024
TANGIER SERIES
MLRA(s): 153D (Northern Tidewater Area)
MLRA Soil Survey Regional Office (MO) Responsible: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Very poorly drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very shallow (0 to 13 centimeters) and permanent
Index Surface Runoff: Very slow or ponded
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately low
Landscape: Coastal plain
Landform: Submerged upland tidal marsh
Parent Material: Silty eolian deposits over fluviomarine sediments
Slope: 0 to 1 percent slopes
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location near Princess Anne, Maryland): 13.9 degrees C. (57 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 117 centimeters (46 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Tangier mucky peat, 0 percent slope in a tidal marsh at an elevation of 0.6 meters (2 feet). (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)
Oe--0 to 10 centimeters (0 to 4 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) mucky peat, hemic soil material dominantly composed of moderately decomposed marsh grasses; fiber content is one-third of the soil volume after rubbing; 30 percent mineral soil material; slightly alkaline; strongly saline; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 20 centimeters thick) (3 to 8 inches)
Ag--10 to 13 centimeters (4 to 5 inches); dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine and common medium roots throughout; n-value is less than 0.7; few medium faint gray (2.5Y 5/1) organic coatings; moderately alkaline; moderately ssline; clear smooth boundary. (3 to 15 centimeters thick) (1 to 6 inches)
Eg--13 to 18 centimeters (5 to 7 inches); gray (2.5Y 5/1) silt loam; moderate medium subangular structure; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots throughout; n-value is less than 0.7; moderately alkaline; moderately saline; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 centimeters thick) (2 to 4 inches)
Btg1--18 to 30 centimeters (7 to 12 inches); gray (2.5Y 5/1) silt loam; massive; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine and many very fine roots throughout; n-value is between 0.7 and 1.0; moderately alkaline; moderately saline; clear wavy boundary.
Btg2--30 to 58 centimeters (12 to 23 inches); gray (N 5/) silt loam; massive; firm; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine and medium and many very fine roots throughout; common medium and coarse prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) irregular masses of oxidized iron throughout; n-value is between 0.7 and 1.0; neutral; moderately saline; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 25 to 91 centimeters) (10 to 36 inches)
2BCg1--58 to 86 centimeters (23 to 34 inches); bluish gray (10B 6/1) fine sandy loam; massive; very friable; slightly sticky, nonplastic; common medium and few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) irregular masses of oxidized iron throughout; woody organic material (tree trunks) 8 to 13 centimeters (3 to 5 inches) in diameter visible at 58 centimeters (23 inches) from the surface in a 0.5 meter diameter area of the pit face; n-value is between 0.7 and 1.0; slightly acid; moderately saline; gradual wavy boundary.
2BCg2--86 to 142 centimeters (34 to 56 inches); gray (5Y 6/1) fine sandy loam; massive; very friable; slightly sticky, nonplastic; common medium and few fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) irregular masses of oxidized iron throughout; n-value is between 0.7 and 1.0; slightly acid; moderately saline; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2BCg horizon is 33 to 97 centimeters) (13 to 38 inches)
2Cg1--142 to 165 centimeters (56 to 65 inches); light gray (N 7/) loamy fine sand; single grain; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; common medium prominent olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6) irregular masses of oxidized iron throughout; n-value is less than 0.7; slightly acid; moderately saline; clear smooth boundary.
2C--165 to 183 centimeters (65 to 72 inches); light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/3) sand; single grain; loose; nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) irregular masses of oxidized iron throughout; 2 percent shell fragments; n-value is less than 0.7; slightly acid; moderately saline.
TYPE LOCATION: Somerset County, Maryland; approximately 4.5 miles east of the town of Deal Island in the Deal Island State Wildlife Management Area; south of Deal Island Road (Route 363) about 6270 feet south on dirt road from gravel road at locked gate, west of Broad Creek. USGS Monie, Maryland, topographic quadrangle; lat. 38 degrees, 9 minutes, 43 seconds N. and long. 75 degrees, 52 minutes, 00 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the base of the argillic: 58 to 123 centimeters (23 to 48 inches)
Depth to bedrock: Greater than 183 centimeters (72 inches)
Depth to seasonal high water table: 0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches), January to December
Shell fragments: None above the 2C horizon; 0 to 20 percent, by volume, in the 2C horizon
Soil reaction: Slightly acid to moderately alkaline in the natural state throughout, and extremely acid to strongly acid upon drying
Salinity: Moderately or strongly saline
Range of Individual Horizons:
Oe horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 1 to 3, and chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 2
Type of organic material--peat or mucky peat
Ag horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 2
Texture--silt loam or loam
Eg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2
Texture--silt loam or loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of accumulated iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
Btg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of accumulated iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
2Btg horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture--loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of accumulated iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
2BCg or 2CBg:
Color--hue of 10YR to 10B, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2
Texture--fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of accumulated iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
2C and 2Cg
Color--hue of 10YR to 10Y, value of 5 to 7, chroma of 1 to 3, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sand, sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or sandy loam
Redoximorphic features (where present)--masses of accumulated iron in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of olive or gray
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: Submerged upland tidal marsh
Elevation: 0 to 1 meter (0 to 3 feet)
Parent Material: Silty eolian deposits over sandy fluviomarine sediments
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 13 to 15 degrees C. (56 to 59 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 107 centimeters to 117 centimeters (42 to 46 inches)
Frost Free Period: 200 to 232 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Honga soils--are Histosols that have organic layers 41 to 130 centimeters (16 to 51 inches) thick on similar landforms.
Mispillion soils--are Histosols that have organic layers 41 to 130 centimeters (16 to 51 inches) thick, do not have an underlying argillic horizon and have n-value of more than 0.7 in the mineral soil layers, on similar, but slightly lower, landforms.
Transquaking soils--are Histosols that have organic layers more than 130 centimeters (51 inches) thick, do not have an argillic horizon and have n-value of more than 1.0 in the mineral sol layers, on similar, but slightly lower, landforms.
Sunken soils--also formed in silty eolian deposits over fluviomarine sediments, but have lower salt content throughout
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Very poorly drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very shallow (less than 25 centimeters) and permanent (present continuously)
Index Surface Runoff: Very slow to ponded
Flooding Frequency and Duration: Very frequent and very brief
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Wetland and wildlife habitat
Dominant Vegetation: saltmeadow hay (Spartina patens), saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), salt grass (Distichlis spicata); marsh elder (Iva frutescens), black needle rush (Juncus roemerinus), groundsel tree (Baccharis halimifolia), common reed (Phragmites australis), and big cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Maryland and possibly Delaware and New Jersey
Extent: Small
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: SPECIAL PROJECTS OFFICE
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Somerset County, Maryland, 2006.
REMARKS:
1. Tangier soils were previously mapped as tidal marsh, formerly a miscellaneous area.
2. Some pedons have sulfides in the epipedon and upper solum.
3. These soils become extremely acid when drained.
4. The original structure of the argillic horizon has been destroyed because of dispersion due to salts.
5. High salt content--the electrical conductivity of the saturation extract ranges from 10 to 16 mmhos/cm in the mineral horizons to greater than 16 mmhos/cm in the organic zone
6. Salinity of the water--ranges from 8 to 16 parts per thousand (ppt).
7. Tangier is named for Tangier Sound, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 13 to 18 centimeters (4 to 7 inches) (Ag and Eg horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 18 to 142 centimeters (7 to 56 inches) (Btg and BCg horizons)
Aquic conditions--within the upper 50 centimeters (20 inches) the soil is continuously or periodically saturated
MLRA = 153D
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for the typical pedon is available from KSSL, Pedon number S00MD-039-001. Radiocarbon data results of organic material taken from this pedon on file at the Somerset County, Maryland, field office. Additional reference samples include Site Numbers 35 and 36 from Darmody, R.G. 1975. Reconnaissance survey of the tidal marsh soils of Maryland. M.S. Thesis, Univ. of Maryland, College Park. 181p. Refer to publication Tidal Marsh Soils of Maryland, Darmody, R.G., and Foss, J.E., Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, Number MP 930, October 1978.
Data Map Unit ID: 438202
Revised: 1/2003-SYD, PSK; 11/2006-SYD, DHK; 6/2013-DTA, Established.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.