LOCATION WHARTON PA+KY MD NY OH VA WV
Established Series
DDC-SLH/Rev. MDJ
09/2015
WHARTON SERIES
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aquic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Wharton silt loam, cultivated on a 3 to 8 percent east facing slope. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 1 percent shale fragments; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (18 to 30 cm thick)
Bt1--23 to 41 cm (9 to 16 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate fine subangular and angular blocky structure; friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common faint clay films on some faces of peds and lining some pores; 1 percent shale fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--41 to 56 cm (16 to 22 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate medium angular blocky structure; friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; many distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron-manganese masses; common medium distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; 1 percent shale fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--56 to 79 cm (22 to 31 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; continuous prominent clay films on the faces of peds and lining pores; many medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) iron-manganese masses; many medium distinct gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions and many coarse faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions on prism faces; 2 percent shale fragments; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 51 to 107 cm)
BC--79 to 117 cm (31 to 46 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse angular blocky; firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few faint clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; common coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) and common coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron-manganese masses; many coarse distinct gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions on prism faces; 10 percent shale fragments; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 51 cm thick)
C--117 to 175 cm (46 to 69 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) channery silty clay loam; massive; very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron-manganese masses; common medium distinct gray (N 6/0) iron depletions and few medium distinct gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions on prism faces; 20 percent shale fragments; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (25 to 64 cm thick)
Cr--175 to 200 cm (69 to 79 inches); brown (10YR 5/3) rippable shale.
TYPE LOCATION:
County: Butler
State: Pennsylvania
USGS Quadrangle: Hilliards, Pennsylvania
Latitude: 41.070556 N (NAD 27)
Longitude: -79.752222 W (NAD 27)
Directions to the pedon: Parker Township; approximately 1.5 miles south of Eldorado, Pennsylvania; about 210 feet west of the intersection of T632 and T725, then 285 feet south parallel to T632.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the top of the Argillic horizon: 13 to 28 cm (5 to 11 inches)
Depth to the base of the Argillic horizon: 64 to 138 cm (25 to 54 inches)
Solum Thickness: 75 to 153 cm (30 to 60 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: 102 to 183 cm (40 to 72 inches)
Depth Class: Deep and Very Deep
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 40 to 71 cm (16 to 28 inches), January through April
Rock Fragment content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume, in the A, E, BE, and Bt horizons, 5 to 50 percent, by volume, in the BC horizon, and 10 to 90 percent, by volume, in the C horizon
Fine-Earth Fraction: 25 to 35 percent clay in the particle control section
Soil Reaction: Strongly acid through extremely acid throughout, except where limed
Range of Individual Horizons:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 through 6, and chroma of 0 through 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam or silty clay loam
E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 5 through 8, and chroma of 1 through 4
Texture (fine earth fraction)--silt loam or silty clay loam
Bt and BC horizons:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 1 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, silty clay, or clay
Redoximorphic features--iron-manganese masses in shades of brown, yellow, and olive and iron depletions in shades of gray, brown, yellow, and olive
C horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--silt loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay
Redoximorphic features--iron-manganese masses in shades of brown, yellow, and olive and iron depletions in shades of gray, brown, yellow, and olive
Cr horizon:
Typically shale or siltstone bedrock but in some places it is interbedded with fine-grained sandstone.
COMPETING SERIES:
Adelphia soil--formed in fluvio-marine sediments which contain glauconite in the series control section
Cotaco soils--formed in alluvial sediments which have sandy clay loam Bt horizons or less than 75 percent of the fine-earth passing the No. 2 sieve
Holmdel soils--formed in loamy marine or fluvio-marine sediments which contain glauconite in the series control section
Kensington soils--formed in loess, till, and residuum, and have a 2Bt horizon
Trackler soils--formed from fine-grained igneous rocks, and have a 2Bt horizon
Woodstown soils--formed from sandy marine and old alluvial sediments
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
MLRA(s) using this series: 124 (Western Allegheny Plateau), 125 (Cumberland Plateau and Mountains), 126 (Central Allegheny Plateau), 127 (Eastern Allegheny Plateau and Mountains), and 128 (Southern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys)
Landscape: Uplands
Landform: Hills
Geomorphic Component: side slope, nose slope, head slope, or crest
Hillslope Profile Position: backslope, shoulder, or summit
Parent Material Origin: Pennsylvanian interbedded clay shale, siltstone, and fine-grained sandstone
Parent Material Kind: Residuum
Slope: 0 to 35 percent
Elevation: 207 to 610 meters (679 to 2001 feet)
Frost-free period: 162 to 205 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 5.0 to 14.0 degrees C. (41 to 57 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 813 to 1854 millimeters (32 to 73 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Armagh soils--occur on broad ridgetops and benches that are poorly drained and have a fine particle size class
Berks soils--occur on well drained summits and upper shoulders that are loamy-skeletal and have a lithic contact that is less than 102 centimeters deep
Blairton soils--occur on upland flats, depressions, and in drainage heads that are moderately well drained and have a lithic contact that is less than 102 centimeters deep
Brinkerton soils--occur on poorly drained footslopes of uplands that have a fragipan
Cavode soils--occur on somewhat poorly drained upland ridgetops, side slopes, and benches and have a fine particle size class
Ernest soils--occur on footslopes of uplands that have a fragipan
Gilpin soils--occur on well drained uplands that have a lithic contact that is less than 102 centimeters deep
Weikert soils--occur on well drained uplands that have a lithic contact that is less than 51 centimeters deep
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Moderately well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Shallow (25-50 cm) and Common (present 3-6 months)
Index Surface Runoff: Low through High
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately low and moderately high
Shrink-Swell Class: Low
Flooding frequency and Duration: None
Ponding frequency and Duration: None
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses: Hayland, pasture, cropland, and woodland
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--Grass-legume hay, corn, wheat, oats. Where wooded--Mixed hardwood trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia; mainly MLRA's 124, 125, 126, 127, and 128
Extent: Large, about 600,000 acres at the time of this revision
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 1943.
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 23 cm (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 23 to 79 cm (Bt horizon)
Redoximorphic depletions with chroma of 2 or less--the zone from 41 to 175 cm
Paralithic contact--175 cm
Series control section--the zone from 23 to 73 cm
This edit updates the format to the MO6 semitabular format; adds fragment kind and updates redoximorphic features in horizon descriptions of TYPICAL PEDON; revises COMPETING SERIES section; expands the description of GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS; updates the DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY section; adds states to the DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT section; adds diagnostic features to the REMARKS section; and adds other sampled pedons to the ADDITIONAL DATA section.
Previous version: 07/2004-AWD, WRK, ART
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Previous revision used Pennsylvania characterization sample number PA-017-016 as a basis for placing this series in the active CEC activity class. Other sampled pedons include 61PA063053, 72PA129020, and 73PA033017. These samples were analyzed by Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.