LOCATION WORSHAM VA+AL GA NC SC
Established Series
Rev. JCN-DA; DTA
09/2025
WORSHAM SERIES
MLRA(s): 136 (thermic part)
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Southeast
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Low
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible to Medium
Shrink-Swell Potential: Moderate
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Depressions, heads of drains, base of slopes, upland flats
Parent Material: Local alluvium derived from granite, gneiss, or schist
Slope: 0 to 8 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 14 degrees C (58 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1143 millimeters (45 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, thermic Typic Endoaquults
TYPICAL PEDON: Worsham silt loam, 2 to 8 percent slopes. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 13 centimeters (0 to 5 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam; weak fine granular; very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots and many medium roots; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Eg--13 to 25 centimeters (5 to 10 inches); light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots and many medium roots; 3 percent subangular quartz gravel; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
Btg1--25 to 56 centimeters (10 to 22 inches); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, very plastic; many very fine and fine and medium roots; many faint continuous clay films on all faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), moist, iron-manganese masses; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Btg2--56 to 89 centimeters (22 to 35 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, very plastic; many faint continuous clay films on all faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6), moist, iron-manganese masses; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Btg horizon is 18 to 102 centimeters (7 to 40 inches) thick.)
BCg--89 to 102 centimeters (35 to 40 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) clay; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, moderately plastic; common fine prominent red (2.5YR 4/6)iron-manganese masses and common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron-manganese masses and common medium faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Cg--102 to 152 centimeters (40 to 60 inches); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay loam; massive structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Brunswick County, Virginia; south on Route 697 from Route 611 on right at 2195 Connell Rd. (Route 697); about 375 feet north northwest into field from gated entrance; USGS White Plains, Virginia topographic quadrangle.
Latitude--36.645556
Longitude-- -77.895278
Datum--WGS84
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 centimeters (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 0 to 30 centimeters (0 to 12 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 10 percent, by volume, in the soil
Soil Reaction: Strongly acid to very strongly acid, except where limed
Clay content: 35 to 55 percent in the particle-size control section.
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 2 to 6 and chroma of 0 to 3
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam
Eg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 0 to 2
Texture--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam or silt loam
BEg or EBg horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 0 to 2, or is neutral
Texture--sandy clay loam or clay loam
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray
Btg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 5 or 6, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture--sandy clay, clay loam, or clay
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray
BCg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 2
Texture--sandy clay loam or clay loam
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray
Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 2
Texture--sandy loam, sandy clay loam or clay loam
Redoximorphic features (if they occur)--iron masses in shades of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, or gray
COMPETING SERIES:
There are no other series in this family. Soils in similar families include:
Chickahominy soils--formed in clayey fluvial sediments on Coastal Plain river terraces
Gertie soils--formed in clayey marine and fluviomarine sediments on terraces and broad flats in the Coastal Plain
Pooler soils--formed in coastal plain sediments and have a solum thickness greater than 60 inches
Pouncey soils--have an abrupt textural change (clay increase) at the top of the argillic horizon
Roanoke soils--formed in alluvial sediments and occur on stream terraces
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont uplands
Landform: Depressions, heads of drains, base of slopes, upland flats
Parent Material: Local alluvium derived from granite, gneiss or schist. The slopes are generally concave or slightly convex. Slope is dominantly between 1 and 4 percent, but ranges from 0 to 8 percent.
Mean Annual Precipitation: 889 to 1143 millimeters (35 to 45 inches)
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 15 to 19 degrees C (59 to 66 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 180 to 210 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Appling soils--are well drained
Colfax soils--are somewhat poorly drained and have a fragipan
Hard Labor--soils are moderately well drained
Helena soils--are moderately well drained
Mattaponi soils--are moderately well drained to well drained
Santuc soils--are moderately well drained and are fine-loamy
Vance soils--are well drained
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Depth Class: Very deep
Agricultural Drainage Class: Poorly drained
Index Surface Runoff: Moderate
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland or pasture. A very small amount is in cropland.
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded--sweetgum, blackgum, willow oak, pin oak, alder, elm, willow and other species or water-tolerant plants and some pine. Where cultivated-corn, soybeans, or sorghum
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Auburn, Alabama
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama
Extent: Small
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Prince Edward County, Virginia, 1901.
REMARKS: The 2001 revision removes the less than 30 percent silt requirement from the particle size control section. That requirement was previously added to differentiate Worsham and Roanoke soils. The 2007 revision moves the type location to the typical pedon for the Brunswick County, Virginia soil survey. The 2025 revision changed the format. No data was changed
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 15 centimeters (0 to 10 inches) (Ap and Eg horizons)
Aquic conditions--periodic saturation and reduction in a zone from 13 to 152 centimeters (5 to 60 inches) at some time during the year.
Argillic horizon-the zone from 15 to 89 centimeters (10 to 35 inches) (Btg horizons)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Data Map Unit ID (type location): 103467
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation
VA0009 WORSHAM 0-8 57-62 180-210 35-45 250-800
SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness
VA0009 NONE 0-1.0 APPARENT NOV-APR >60
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC-
VA0009 0-10 FSL SL 0-5 85-100 10-20 -
VA0009 0-10 L SIL 0-5 85-100 10-25 -
VA0009 10-40 SCL SC C 0-5 85-100 30-55 -
VA0009 40-60 SL SCL CL 0-10 80- 95 10-40 -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll
VA0009 0-10 4.5-5.5 1.-2. 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW
VA0009 0-10 4.5-5.5 1.-3. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW
VA0009 10-40 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.00-0.06 MODERATE
VA0009 40-60 4.5-5.5 0.-.5 0-0 0.2-0.6 MODERATE
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.