LOCATION TARRUS NC+SC VA
Established Series
Rev. PWW-DTA
09/2025
TARRUS SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from argillite or other fine-grained metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina Slate Belt.
Slope: 0 to 50 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 17 degrees C (62 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1118 millimeters (44 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Tarrus silt loam-woodland. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 15 centimeters (O to 6 inches); reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 centimeters (0 to 8 inches) thick)
Bt1--15 to 51 centimeters (6 to 20 inches); red (2.5YR 5/8) silty clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--51 to 112 centimeters (20 to 44 inches); red (2.5YR 5/8) clay; common medium prominent brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 63 to 142 centimeters (25 to 56 inches.)
Cr--112 to 157 centimeters (44 to 62 inches); weathered, moderately fractured argillite.
TYPE LOCATION: Randolph County, North Carolina; 0.9 mile east of intersection of Secondary Roads 1181 and 1105, 500 feet north of intersection of Secondary 1105 and logging road; 30 feet west of logging road in woods. USGS Eleazer, North Carolina topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--35.527778
Longitude-- -79.996111
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Solum thickness: 76 to 102 centimeters (30 to 40 inches)
Depth to soft bedrock: 102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches) to weathered bedrock (paralithic contact--Cr)
Depth to hard bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches) to unweathered bedrock (lithic contact--R)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 40 percent, by volume, throughout
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid or strongly acid, unless limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 6, chroma of 2 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, or fine sandy loam; where eroded, clay loam or silty clay loam.
E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 10R or 2.5YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 6 to 8. Some pedons have mottles in shades of yellow, red, or brown.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silty clay loam, silty clay, clay loam, or clay contains more than 30 percent silt or more than 40 percent silt plus very fine sand.
BC or CB horizons (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have mottles in shades of yellow, red, or brown. Other colors occur as streaks or mottles in some pedons.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay
C horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10R to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have mottles in shades of yellow, red, or brown.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay saprolite
Cr horizon:
Type of bedrock--weathered, slightly fractured to highly fractured argillite or other fine grained metavolcanic rock
COMPETING SERIES:
Appling soils--formed in felsic crystalline parent material, have a yellow subsoil, have less than 30 percent silt, and are very deep
Bethlehem soils--formed in felsic crystalline parent material, have less than 30 percent silt, and are moderately deep
Cecil soils--formed in felsic crystalline parent material, have less than 30 percent silt, and are very deep
Georgeville soils--are very deep
Herndon soils--have a yellow subsoil and are very deep
Nanford soils--have a yellow subsoil
Pacolet soils--formed in felsic crystalline parent material, have less than 30 percent silt, and are very deep
Saw soils--formed in felsic crystalline parent material, have less than 30 percent silt, and are moderately deep.
Wedowee soils-- formed in felsic crystalline parent material, have a yellow subsoil, have less than 30 percent silt, and are very deep
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Ridges and hill slopes
Landform: Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes
Parent Material: Residuum weathered from argillite or other fine-grained metavolcanic rocks of the Carolina Slate Belt
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 to 18 degrees C (59 to 65 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1016 to 1270 millimeters (40 to 50 inches)
Frost Free Period: 175 to 240 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Alamance soils--are fine-silty and are very deep
Badin soils--are moderately deep
Biscoe soils--are fine-silty, moderately deep, and somewhat poorly drained
Callison soils--are fine-silty, moderately deep, and moderately well drained
Cid soils--are moderately well or somewhat poorly drained and are moderately deep
Goldston soils--are loamy-skeletal and shallow
Gundy soils--formed from residuum weathered from mafic crystalline rock
Kirksey soils--are fine-silty and moderately well drained
Lignum soils--are moderately well or somewhat poorly drained
Mandale soils--are fine-silty, very deep, and somewhat poorly drained
Secrest soils--are fine-silty and somewhat poorly to moderately well drained
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Index Surface Runoff: Medium
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland and some cropland and pasture
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded--mixed hardwoods and pine. Where cultivated--corn, small grain, and soybeans.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia
Extent: Moderate
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Randolph County, North Carolina, 1999.
REMARKS:
Tarrus soils were formerly mapped as Tatum soils. Tatum soils have mixed mineralogy and formed from sericite schist, phyllite, or other fine-grained metamorphic rocks. The September 2025 revision corrected some of the formatting. No data was changed.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 6 inches) (A horizon).
Argillic horizon--the zone from 15 to 112 centimeters (6 to 44 inches) (Bt horizons).
Paralithic contact--soft weathered bedrock at 112 centimeters (44 inches) (Cr horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
NC TARRUS 0-50 59-65 175-240 40-50 250-900
NC TARRUS 0-50 58-65 180-200 38-46 250-900
NC TARRUS 0-50 58-65 180-200 38-46 250-900
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
NC NONE >6.0 - 40-60 SOFT
NC NONE >6.0 - 40-60 SOFT
NC NONE >6.0 - 40-60 SOFT
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
NC 0-6 SIL L VFSL 0-5 80-100 12-27 -
NC 0-6 FSL 0-5 80-100 5-20 -
NC 0-6 SICL CL 0-5 75-90 27-40 -
NC 6-44 SICL SIC C 0-5 75-95 45-60 -
NC 44-62 WB - - - -
NC 0-6 GR-SIL GR-L GR-VFSL 0-10 55-75 12-27 -
NC 0-6 GR-FSL 0-10 55-75 5-20 -
NC 0-6 GR-SICL GR-CL 0-10 55-75 40-50 -
NC 6-44 SICL SIC GR-C 0-10 55-95 45-60 -
NC 44-62 WB - - - -
NC 0- 6 GR-C 0-10 55-75 40-50 -
NC 6-44 SICL SIC GR-C 0-10 55-95 45-60 -
NC 44-62 WB - - - -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 0.-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 6-44 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 44-62 - - - 0.00-0.06
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 .5-2. - 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 6-44 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 44-62 - - - 0.00-0.06
NC 0-6 4.5-5.5 .5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 6-44 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
NC 44-62 - - - 0.00-0.06
________________________________________
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.