LOCATION WOLFGAP VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, siliceous, active, mesic Fluventic Hapludolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Wolfgap clay loam - on a 2 percent slope in a hay field. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 11 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) clay loam; yellowish
brown (10YR 5/4) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many fine and medium roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 24 inches thick.)
Bw1--11 to 35 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy clay
loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable,
slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine roots; neutral; diffuse smooth boundary.
Bw2--35 to 58 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) sandy clay loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly
sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; neutral; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of Bw horizons range from 30 to 50 inches.)
C--58 to 72 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) extremely gravelly
fine sandy loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, slightly
plastic; 65 percent gravel; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Smyth County, Virginia; about 0.3 mile west 280 degrees of the junction of Highways VA-42 and VA-630 and 2.3
miles east 80 degrees of the junction of Highways VA-42 and VA-
91.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to 60
inches or more. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Gravel
and cobbles range from 0 to 35 percent in the Ap and Bw horizons
and from 15 to 80 percent in the C horizon. Reaction ranges from slightly acid through moderately alkaline throughout the soil.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and
chroma of 2 or 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silt
loam, or clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The A horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of
2 or 3, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and
chroma of 4 through 6. In some pedons, the upper Bw horizon has
value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 through 3. It is loam, silt
loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The C horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of
3 through 5, and chroma of 3 through 6. It is loamy sand, sandy
loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, sandy clay loam, or clay
loam in the fine-earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no known series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wolfgap soils are on flood plains. Slopes
range from 0 to 5 percent. These soils formed in alluvium
derived from limestones, sandstones, siltstones, and shales of Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian ages. In Virginia, Wolfgap soils are on floodplains of the North Forks of the Holston and Shenandoah Rivers, the James River and
its tributaries, and Reed Creek. Wolfgap soils also are on floodplains of portions of the Maury River and other streams that drain areas underlain by rocks of the above lithologies and ages. Climate is temperate and humid. The mean air temperature ranges
from 50 to 57 degrees F. The mean annual precipitation ranges
from 30 to 45 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Alonzville,
Berks,
Botetourt,
Broadway,
Caverns,
Coursey,
Derroc,
Frederick,
Gladehill,
Groseclose,
Gullion (proposed),
Ingledove (proposed),
Irongate (proposed),
Lehew,
Moomaw,
Newmarc,
Nomberville,
Shottower, and
Weikert soils. Alonzville, Botetourt, Caverns, Coursey, Ingledove, and Shottower soils have argillic horizons
and are on stream terraces. Berks, Lehew, and Weikert soils are shallower to bedrock, contain more rock fragments in the subsoil,
and are on uplands. Broadway, Gullion, and Nomberville soils
contain more silt in the subsoil and are on similar landscapes. Gladehill soils contain less clay in the subsoil and are on
similar landscapes. Derroc soils contain more rock fragment in
the subsoil and are on similar landscapes. Frederick and
Groseclose soils are well drained, contain more clay in the
subsoil, and are on uplands. Irongate soils are moderately well drained and are on similar landscapes. Moomaw soils have a
fragipan and are on stream terraces. Newmarc soils are somewhat poorly drained and are on similar landscapes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is
moderate. Runoff is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for row crops, hay, and pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Valley and Ridge physiographic
province in Virginia and possibly West Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Smyth County, Virginia, 1988.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizon and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 11 inches (Ap horizon).
Cambic horizon - the zone from 11 to 58 inches (Bw horizon). Fluventic feature - irregular organic matter content decrease
with increasing depth.
Udic moisture regime.
Soils now within the range of the Wolfgap series were correlated Buckton, Chagrin, Hayter, Nolin, Ross, and Wheeling in several published soil surveys.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Morphology, chemistry, particle-size
distribution, and mineralogy are reported in:
Edmonds, W. J., D. D. Rector, D. A. Gall, D. R. Hatch, R. S.
Joslyn, and J. C. Baker. 1987. Properties and classification of
soils derived from stratified alluvium in the Valley and Ridge Province of Virginia. Va. Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 00-0 In press.