LOCATION ZEKIAH MD+DE
Established Series
PSK-GPD-WDC/Rev. JWB
11/2015
ZEKIAH SERIES
MLRA(s): 149A (Northern Coastal Plain), 153C (Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain), 153D (Northern Tidewater Area)
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Parent Material: Loamy alluvium
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 13 degrees C (56 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1143 mm (45 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, siliceous, active, acid, mesic Typic Fluvaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Zekiah silt loam, on a smooth 0 percent slope, in a wooded floodplain. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 8 cm (0 to 3 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/2), silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/2), dry; weak fine granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; very strongly acid, pH 4.8; abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 15 cm thick)
Cg--8 to 51 cm (3 to 20 inches); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), silt loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; few very fine vesicular pores; 10 percent medium prominent dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) masses of oxidized iron; very strongly acid, pH 4.8; abrupt wavy boundary. (25 to 51 cm thick)
Ab--51 to 69 cm (20 to 27 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1), sandy loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots; 10 percent medium prominent dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) masses of oxidized iron; very strongly acid, pH 4.8; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)
C'g1--69 to 94 cm (27 to 37 inches); dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2), sandy loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; 35 percent very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic stains; 1 percent medium prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) masses of oxidized iron; extremely acid, pH 4.0; 5 percent medium gray (10YR 5/1) lenses of sand; clear wavy boundary.
C'g2--94 to 127 cm (37 to 50 inches); bluish gray (5B 5/1), loam; massive; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; 1 percent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron; very strongly acid, pH 4.8; clear wavy boundary.
C'g3--127 to 183 cm (50 to 72 inches); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2), stratified sand to loamy sand; single grain; loose; 37 percent dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) organic stains; extremely acid, pH 4.0.
TYPE LOCATION: Worcester County, Maryland; about 200 feet north of Boxiron Road adjacent to Boxiron Creek; USGS Boxiron, MD topographic quadrangle; lat. 38 degrees 07 minutes 00 seconds N. and long. 75 degrees 21 minutes 30 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 183 cm (72 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 inches), January to December
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 5 percent, by volume in the A horizon and 0 to 20 percent in Ab and Cg horizon; mostly rounded gravel
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to strongly acid, throughout, except where limed
Other Features: Organic matter content is variable and ranges from 1 to 18 percent throughout the profile.
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 5, chroma 1 to 3
Texture (fine earth fraction)--sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 7, chroma of 1 or 2, or is neutral with value of 4 to 7
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, loam, or silt loam
Redoximorphic Features--iron depletions in shades of olive or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, brown, yellow, or olive
Ab horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 7.5YR, value of 1 to 4, chroma of 1 or 3
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or silt loam. Some pedons have a sequence of buried A horizons.
Redoximorphic Features--iron depletions in shades of olive or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, brown, yellow, or olive
C'g horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR to 5B, value of 3 to 8, chroma of 1 to 2
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--coarse sand, sand, fine sand, loamy coarse sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam
Redoximorphic Features--iron depletions in shades of olive or gray and masses of oxidized iron in shades of red, brown, yellow, or olive
COMPETING SERIES: None
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain
Landform: Flood plain
Geomorphic Component: None
Hillslope Profile Position: None
Parent Material: Loamy alluvium
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Elevation: 0 to 38 meters (0 to 125 feet)
Frost Free Period: 170 to 210 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 13 degrees C. (52 to 56 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 965 to 1219 mm (38 to 48 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Askecksy soils--have a sandy particle-size control section; on slightly higher landforms of adjacent low-lying uplands
Chicone soils-have a seasonal high water table at a depth of +30 to 15 cm (+12 to 6 inches) (very poorly drained), have a coarse-silty particle-size control section, and buried organic layers; on lower-lying landforms
Fallsington soils--have a fine-loamy particle-size control section and an argillic horizon; on slightly higher landforms of adjacent low-lying uplands
Hurlock soils--have an argillic horizon, on slightly higher landforms of adjacent low-lying uplands
Indiantown soils--have a seasonal high water table at a depth of +15 to 30 cm (+6 to 6 inches) (very poorly drained) and have a thick umbric epipedon; on similar landforms
Longmarsh soils--have a seasonal high water table at a depth of +15 to 46 cm (+6 to 18 inches) (very poorly drained) and have an umbric epipedon; on similar landforms
Manahawkin soils--have a seasonal high water table at a depth of +30 to 0 cm (+12 to 0 inches) (very poorly drained) and organic layers 41 to 130 cm (16 to 51 inches) thick; on similar landforms
Mullica soils--have a seasonal high waster table at a depth of +15 to 30 cm (+6 to 12 inches) (very poorly drained) and have an umbric epipedon; on slightly higher landforms of adjacent low-lying uplands
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Poorly drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very shallow (less than 25 cm) and permanent (present continuously)
Flooding Frequency and Duration: Frequent for brief periods
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible or low
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high
Permeability Class (obsolete): Moderate
Shrink-Swell Potential: Low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Mainly wetland wildlife habitat. Most areas are along active streams. Some areas have been channelized for drainage.
Dominant Vegetation: Native vegetation includes Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), Water Oak (Quercus nigra), and Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum. The understory includes Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), American Holly (Ilex opaca), Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corybosum) and sedges (Carex spp).
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
Distribution: Flood plains of the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey
Extent: Moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Worcester County, Maryland, 1996
REMARKS: Zekiah soils were previously mapped as Bibb soils and Mixed Alluvial land.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 8 cm (A horizon)
Aquic conditions--the zone from 8 cm to a depth of 200 cm is periodically saturated (endosaturation)
Other soil features identified with this pedon:
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 150 cm
The 2007 revision updates the format, the range in characteristics for the Cg, Ab, and Cg horizons and introduces metric units.
Previous revisions: 11/2002 Rev. JAK
ADDITIONAL DATA:
The following pedons are available from the NRCS-Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE: S94MD-047-067.
Database Information:
OSD Data Mapunit ID: To be developed
Typical Pedon Data Mapunit ID: 95472
OSD User Pedon ID: Zekiah-OSD
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.