LOCATION WHALEHEAD               NC+VA

Established Series
JDK-RBT
10/2026

WHALEHEAD SERIES

MLRA(s)--153B
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Water depth range--0 to 1 meter (0 to 3 feet)
Parent material--Sandy lagoonal deposits over sandy fluviomarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Submerged wave-cut platforms
Slope range--0 to 1 percent
Mean annual air temperature--17 degrees C (63 degrees F)
Mean annual water temperature--15 degrees C (59 degrees F)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Siliceous, thermic Fluventic Psammowassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Whalehead fine sand on a submerged wave-cut platform under 1.2 meters of brackish water (colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated; electrical conductivity is 1:5 by volume solution mixture unless otherwise stated).

Cseg--0 to 26 centimeters; olive gray (5Y 5/2) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; slight sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; no effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.8 dS/m); moderately acid (pH 6.0); clear boundary (26 to 106 centimeters thick).

2ACseg--26 to 59 centimeters; 70 percent very dark gray (5Y 3/1) and 30 percent olive gray (5Y 4/2) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 5 percent herbaceous plant fibers; slight sulfurous odor; color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.6 dS/m); neutral (pH 7.2); clear boundary (7 to 33 centimeters thick).

2Cseg--59 to 88 centimeters; light olive gray (5Y 6/2) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.4 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); gradual boundary.

2Cg1--88 to 132 centimeters; 75 percent olive gray (5Y 5/2) and 25 percent pale olive (5Y 6/3) fine sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; 10 percent coarse distinct irregular yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of oxidized iron; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; no effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.4 dS/m); slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear boundary.

2Cg2--132 to 200 centimeters; 60 percent light gray (5Y 7/2) and 40 percent olive gray (5Y 5/2) sand; single grain; nonsticky, nonplastic; nonfluid; no sulfurous odor; no color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; no effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; nonsaline (0.5 dS/m1); neutral (pH 7.3).

TYPE LOCATION: Currituck County, North Carolina; Currituck Sound; approximately 0.2 kilometers (0.1 miles) south of the intersection of Ferry Dock Road and Ferryview Lane on Knotts Island, and approximately 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles) west of the intersection of Sandfiddler Road and Daffodil Lane on Carova Beach; USGS topographic quadrangle: Barco.

Latitude--36.4818630
Longitude-- -75.9266060
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--From hand-held GPS

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Manner of failure / fluidity class--Nonfluid to slightly fluid throughout
Depth to lithologic discontinuity--26 to 106 centimeters
Shell fragments--0 to 2 percent, by volume
Sulfurous odor--None to strong throughout
Soil reaction--Moderately acid to slightly alkaline throughout (pH 5.6 to 7.8)
Oxidized reaction--Extremely acid to slightly alkaline throughout (pH 3.5 to 7.8)
Depth to hypersulfidic / sulfidic materials (oxidized pH 4.0)--Greater than 100 centimeters
Electrical conductivity (1:5 soil to water solution)--0.6 to 1.5 dS/m throughout profile
Salinity class--Nonsaline
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 100 centimeters--6 to 9 kg m-2
Total soil organic carbon stock 0 to 200 centimeters--8 to 13 kg m-2

Cseg horizon:
Hue--2.5Y to 10Y
Value--3 to 5
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--Fine sand or loamy sand
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 7.1 kg m-3

2ACseg or 2Asegb horizons (where present):
Hue--10YR to 5Y
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--1 or 2
Texture--Fine sand or loamy fine sand
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 27 kg m-3

2Cseg or 2C'seg horizons:
Hue--10YR to 10Y, or neutral
Value--3 to 6
Chroma--0 to 6
Texture--Sand, fine sand, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, or clay loam
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 7.1 kg m-3

2Cg horizon (where present):
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--4 to 7
Chroma--1 to 3
Texture--Sand or fine sand
Organic carbon density--0.2 to 7.1 kg m-3

COMPETING SERIES:
These are the Fort Caswell and Pine Island soils.
Fort Caswell soils--are in estuaries with water salinities of 15 to 30 parts per thousand and often do not have lithologic discontinuities (do not contain fluviomarine deposits).
Pine Island soils--are on relict flood-tidal deltas and formed entirely in sandy lagoonal deposits.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape--Barrier-island lagoons and southeast coastal plain estuaries
Landform--Submerged wave-cut platforms
Parent material--Sandy lagoonal deposits over sandy fluviomarine deposits
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Water depth range--0 to 1 meter (0 to 3 feet) below mean sea level
Water salinity range--0.5 to 5 parts per thousand

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the False Cape, Kill Devil, Lost, and Trinity Harbor soils.
False Cape soils--are on submerged wave-built terraces and formed in sandy lagoonal deposits over loamy estuarine deposits.
Kill Devil soils--are on fluviomarine bottoms, mainland coves, and low-energy lagoon bottoms and formed in fine-loamy estuarine deposits.
Lost soils--are on submerged tidal marshes and contain sulfidic materials.
Trinity Harbor soils--are on high-energy lagoon bottoms and formed in coarse-loamy lagoonal deposits.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high to very high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated by brackish water. The water level is primarily driven by wind tides.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--The area is used for recreational fishing, swimming, hunting, and boating. Uses also include commercial fishing and crabbing.
Typical vegetation--Vegetation includes widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), sago pondweed (Stuckenia pectinata), wild celery (Vallisneria americana), and invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum). Vegetation coverage typically ranges from 25 to greater than 75 percent.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--Coastal plain estuaries in North Carolina and Virginia
Land Resource Regions--T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--153B
Extent--Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Special Projects Region

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Currituck County, North Carolina, 2026

REMARKS:
The series is named after the Whalehead Club in Corolla, NC, a former hunt club that is now a National Historic Landmark. Whalehead soils were previously mapped as water in North Carolina and Virginia soil surveys.

Diagnostic horizons and other diagnostic soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are (Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Thirteenth Edition, 2022):
Lithologic discontinuity--The zone from 26 to 200 centimeters is formed in fluviomarine deposits.
Peraquic feature--Zero or positive soil water potential at the soil surface (permanently submerged).

NASIS User Site and Pedon ID: S2026NC053001

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.