LOCATION TOWHEE PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Fragiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Towhee silt loam - idle. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; 10 percent subangular gravel; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.(6 to 11 inches thick).
Btg1--8 to 11 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) silt loam; weak fine blocky structure; friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few clay films on surfaces along pores; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and common fine distinct gray (5Y 6/1) iron depletions; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Btg2--11 to 21 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) gravelly silty clay loam; very coarse prismatic parting to weak fine blocky structure; friable, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few clay films on faces of peds; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; 20 percent subangular gravel; slightly acid; clear irregular boundary.(7 to 15 inches thick)
Btg3--21 to 28 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay loam; very coarse prismatic parting to weak medium blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; common clay films on faces of peds; few manganese coatings and common medium prominent brown (7.5YR 4/2) iron depletions and common medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; 10 percent subangular gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Btx1--28 to 53 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) and gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam; weak coarse prismatic parting to weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; brittle; common clay films on faces of peds; common coarse distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and common coarse distinct gray (5YR 5/1) iron depletions; 10 percent subangular gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (20 to 40 inches thick)
Btx2--53 to 63 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) loam; weak coarse prismatic parting to weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm, moderately sticky, slightly plastic; few clay films on faces of peds; few coarse distinct yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and few coarse distinct gray (5YR 5/1) iron depletions; 5 percent subangular gravel; neutral; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
C1--63 to 69 inches; reddish yellow (7.5YR 7/6) coarse sandy loam; massive; firm, moderately sticky, nonplastic; few clay films on surfaces along pores; many coarse distinct reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) masses of oxidized iron and many coarse distinct gray (N 6/0) iron depletions; 10 percent subangular gravel; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 15 inches thick)
C2--69 to 76 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) coarse sandy loam; massive; firm, slightly sticky, nonplastic; clay bridges between sand grains; many coarse prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and many coarse prominent light gray (5Y 7/1) iron depletions; 10 percent subangular gravel; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: located in Pennsylvania, Bucks County; Haycock Township, 0.5 miles south of Applebachville in the Lake Towhee Park area, 1.4 miles southeast of the intersection of Apple Road and Bethlehem Road, about 2,600 feet east of St. Pauls Church.; Quakertown, Pennsylvania USGS 7.5 Minute Quadrangles. lat. 40 degrees, 28 minutes, 38.00 seconds N. and long. 75 degrees, 16 minutes, 13.00 seconds W
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 70 inches. Depth to bedrock is 4 to 8 feet. Depth to fragipan ranges from 20 to 30 inches. Rock fragments of diabase range from less than 5 to 10 percent in the Ap and Btg horizons and from 5 to 30 percent in the lower Btg, Bx and C horizons. Limited laboratory data reveals a fairly even distribution of illite, kaolinite, vermiculite and montmorillonite clay minerals. Reaction ranges from slightly acid to neutral throughout.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 1 through 4. In undisturbed areas, the A horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 through 4 and chroma of 0 through 2. Texture is silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The E horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 0 through 2. Texture is silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is silt loam or clay loam in the fine-earth fraction. It has very coarse prismatic to fine medium subangular blocky structure.
The Bx horizon has hue of 10YR through 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 8 with low chroma coatings on faces of prisms. Texture is loam or silty clay loam in the fine-earth fraction with more sand and less silt with increasing depth.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR through 2.5Y. Texture range from sandy loam through clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. The Frenchtown, Hasbrouck, and Loysville series are in the closely related family. Frenchtown and Hasbrouck soils do not have rock fragments dominated by basic rocks. Loysville soils have rock fragments dominated by angular chert fragments and do not have prismatic structure in the fragipan.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The Towhee soils are in upland flats and depressions with slopes up to 8 percent. The soils developed in colluvium or residuum from basic rocks such as diabase, diorite or gabbro. The climate is temperate and humid. Mean annual precipitation is 40 to 46 inches, mean annual temperature ranges from 50 to 57 degrees F., and the growing season ranges from 150 to 200 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Brecknock, Calvert, Croton, Doylestown, Gladstone, Glenelg, Glenville, Legore, Lehigh, Mount Lucas, and Neshaminy soils. Brecknock, Gladstone, Glenelg, Legore, Lehigh, Mount Lucas, and Neshaminy soils do not have fragipans. Calvert, Croton, and Doylestown soils have less than 15 percent sand, coarser than very fine sand, plus rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Glenville is moderately well drained or somewhat poorly drained soils. They formed primarily in colluvium or residuum affected by soil creep that is weathered from phyllite, micaceous schist, gneiss and other acid crystalline rocks.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. Runoff is slow to medium. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low to moderately high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Dominant use is woodland of water tolerant tree species. Few areas cleared for pasture or cropland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Pennsylvania, Maryland, possibly New Jersey. The extent is moderate. Pennsylvania has about 18,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 8 inches (Ap horizon).
2. Argillic horizon - the zone from 8 to 28 inches (Btg horizon).
3. Fragipan - the zone from 28 to 63 inches (Bx horizon).
2/2002 Revision - GDM-JRH
2007 Pedon description updated