LOCATION URBANA             MD+PA
Established Series
Rev. JLO
01/2006

URBANA SERIES


The Urbana series consists of deep, well and somewhat poorly drained soils on uplands. They formed in material weathered from crystalline rocks. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. Mean annual temperature is 50 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 40 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aquic Fragiudalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Urbana silt loam - on a 2 percent slope in a culti- vated field. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap-- 0 to 9 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; moderate medium

granular structure; friable; sticky and slightly plastic;
many fine roots; medium acid; clear wavy boundary. (8 to 10
inches thick)

Bt-- 9 to 18 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) silty clay loam;

moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable,
sticky and plastic; common fine roots; common thin discon-
tinuous yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) clay films and few thick
flows of olive brown (2.5Y 4/4); few bluish green fragments
of schist; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 14
inches thick)

Btx-- 18 to 29 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) channery silt loam; few medium distinct mottles of light gray (10YR 6/1) and common medium distinct mottles of strong brown (7.5YR 5/6);
strong medium platy structure; compact, very firm, brittle,
sticky and plastic; thick olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) clay films;
15 percent by volume schist channers; strongly acid; gradual
wavy boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)

C--29 to 54 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3), olive (5Y 5/4), dark olive gray (5Y 3/2), grayish green (5G 5/2), and light yellow
brown (10YR 6/4) very channery silt loam; strong medium platy structure; compact, very firm, brittle; 55 percent by volume channers, coated with dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) silt or clay;
medium acid; clear irregular boundary. (15 to 32 inches thick)

R--54 inches; bluish gray, gray, and olive fractured but unseparated actinolite schist.

TYPE LOCATION: Carroll County, Maryland; at intersection of Marston Road and New Windsor Road.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum ranges from 20 to 40 inches and depth to bedrock from 40 to 72 inches. Rock fragments of schist range from 1 to 10 percent in the A horizon, 3 to 25 percent in the B horizon and 35 to 90 percent in the C horizon. Rock fragments larger than 3 inches range from 0 to 5 percent in the B horizon and from 20 to 50 percent in the C horizon.

The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 4 with chroma of 4 and value of 6 confined to the E horizon in undisturbed pedons. The A horizon is silt loam in the fine earth fraction. It ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid.

The B horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It has mottles of 2 or lower chroma within 10 inches of the upper boundary. It is silt loam, silty clay loam or clay loam, with clay content of 20 to 30 percent. It ranges from strongly acid to slightly acid in the upper part and from medium to slightly acid in the lower part.

The C horizon is normally a variegated dense mass of weathered
schist fragments. The fine earth fraction is channery to extremely channery silt loam. It ranges from slightly firm to extremely firm and is not uniformly brittle. It is medium or slightly acid.

COMPETING SERIES These are the Albrights, Amwell, Canfield, Rittman, Sciotoville, Titusville, and Turbotville series and the Clarksburg, Comly, and Glenville series. Albrights, Canfield, Sciotoville, Titus- ville, and Turbotville soils have sola thicker than 40 inches. Amwell soils have coarse fragments derived from basic igneous rocks. Rittman soils have coarse fragments dominated by sandstone and a few erratics. Clarksburg and Comly soils do not have mottles of 2 or lower chroma in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon. Glenville soils have less than 35 percent base saturation.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Urbana soils are nearly level to sloping soils on uplands in the northern part of the Piedmont Plateau. Slopes are smooth and simple and are most commonly less than 10 percent but range from 0 to 25 percent. The soils formed in residuum from actinolite, sericite and related fine-grained schistose rocks that are compara- tively high in bases. The climate is temperate and humid. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 40 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cardiff, Chester, Glenelg, Glenville, Linganore, Manor, and Mt. Airy soils. Cardiff soils are skeletal and do not have an argillic horizon. Chester, Glenelg, Linganore, and Manor soils are well drained and do not have fragipans. Mt. Airy soils have bedrock within 40 inches and are skeletal. These soils on similar topographic positions as the Urbana soils or are on slightly higher positions. Glenville soils are on similar topographic positions as the Urbana soils but have less than 35 percent base saturation.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained and somewhat poorly drained. Runoff is medium to rapid. Over-all permeability is slow.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for growing general crops and as pasture. Native vegetation consists of black oak, yellow poplar, hickory, dog- wood, and Virginia pine.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maryland and Pennsylvania. The series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Frederick County (Monocacy SCD), Maryland, 1942.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 9 to 29 inches (Bt, Btx horizons)
Fragipan - the zone from approximately 18 to 29 inches (Btx horizon) Aquic udalfs feature - mottles that have chroma of 2 or less in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon.

Additional Data:


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.