LOCATION ZION VA+GA NCEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Zion loam (in an unknown area), in woodland. (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
A--0 to 3 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2), dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; 1 percent, by volume fine black (10YR 2/1) concretions; very strongly acid. (0 to 6 inches thick)
E--3 to 10 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; common fine and medium pores; 5 percent, by volume coarse black (10YR 2/1) and dark brown (10YR 3/3) concretions; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
BEc--10 to 18 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) very gravelly clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, slightly plastic; 15 percent, by volume medium and fine roots; many coarse black (10YR 2/1) and dark brown (10YR 3/3) concretions; strongly acid; 40 percent, by volume gravel; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--18 to 26 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) clay; moderate coarse angular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; few fine roots; few fine and medium pores; few prominent clay films on vertical faces of peds; 5 percent, by volume coarse black (10YR 2/1) and dark brown (10YR 3/3) concretions; few fine mica flakes; 2 percent, by volume gravel; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 20 inches thick)
BC--26 to 36 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly clay; common distinct black (10YR 2/1) mottles and common prominent grayish green (5G 5/2) and very pale brown (10YR 8/2) mottles; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm, moderately sticky, moderately plastic; 30 percent, by volume gravel and cobbles 1 to 4 inches in diameter; 1 percent, by volume mica flakes; strongly acid; mottled material is saprolite; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
R--36 inches; mafic rock; very strongly cemented; very high excavation difficulty.
TYPE LOCATION: Orange County, Virginia; about 2.0 miles northeast of Lahore, east of U.S. Highway 522; USGS Unknown, VA topographic quadrangle; lat. 00 degrees 00 minutes 00 seconds N. and long. 00 degrees 00 minutes 00 seconds W., NAD 27 or 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of Argillic horizon: 1 to 20 inches
Depth to base of Argillic horizon: 25 to 40 inches
Depth to Bedrock: 20 to 40 inches to hard bedrock
Rock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent in the A, Ap, BA, BE, and E horizons, 5 to 60 percent in the BEc horizon, 0 to 15 percent in the Bt horizon and 5 to 40 percent in the BC, B/C, and C horizons; mostly iron and manganese concretions, rock fragments, and angular quartz gravel
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid in the A, E, and the upper part of the B horizon and strongly acid to neutral in the lower B and C horizon
Mica Content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume mica flakes throughout
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A horizon or Ap horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, chroma of 2 to 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam
E horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam
BA or BE horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--lam, silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam
BEc horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 3 to 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8 or may be variegated in shades of these colors
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay loam, silty clay or clay
BC horizon (if it occurs):
Color--hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, chroma of 4 to 8 or may be variegated in shades of these colors
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--clay, clay loam, loam or sandy clay loam
Mottles (if they occur)--shades of red, yellow, brown, black, green, or gray
C horizon (if it occurs):
Color--variegated in shades of yellow, brown, or red
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam saprolite. Some pedons have tongues of clayey material in the upper part.
C/B or B/C horizon (if they occur):
C part--same properties as C horizon
B part--same properties as Bt or BC horizon
Cr horizon (if it occurs):
Bedrock kind--hornblende schist, gabbro, diorite, diabase, dacite, or other mafic rock
Bedrock hardness--extremely weakly cemented to moderately cemented
Fracture interval--greater than 4 inches
Excavation difficulty--low to high
Thickness--0 to 10 inches
R horizon:
Bedrock kind--hornblende schist, gabbro, diorite, diabase, dacite, or other mafic rock
Bedrock hardness--strongly cemented to indurated
Fracture interval--greater than 4 inches
Excavation difficulty--very high or extremely high
COMPETING SERIES:
Diana Mills soils--no Official Series Description available
Montalto soils--are very deep to bedrock
Mount Rush soils--no Official Series Description available
Needmore soils--are moderately deep to soft bedrock and formed in residuum from calcareous shale
Oak Level soils--are very deep to bedrock
Peabody soils--are moderately deep to soft bedrock and formed in residuum derived from interbedded olive yellow siltstone and red clay shale
Rasalo soils--are very deep to bedrock
Spray soils--are very deep to bedrock and formed in residuum from Triassic age materials
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont upland
Landform: Hill, ridge, interfluve
Geomorphic Component: Crest, nose slope, side slope, head slope
Hillslope Profile Position: Summit, shoulder, backslope
Parent Material: Residuum from mafic rock, commonly hornblende schist, gabbro, diorite, diabase, or dacite
Slope: 2 to 45 percent
Elevation: 250 to 1000 feet
Frost Free Period: 160 to 205 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 52 to 57 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation: 40 to 55 inches
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Bremo soils--have a loamy-skeletal particle-size control section; on similar landforms
Orange soils--are deep to hard bedrock and are somewhat poorly or moderately well drained; on lower-lying landforms
Jackland soils--are very deep and are moderately well drained or somewhat poorly drained; on lower-lying landforms
Rasalo soils--are very deep to bedrock
Siloam soils--are shallow to soft bedrock and moderately deep to hard bedrock; on slightly higher landforms
Spray soils--are very deep to bedrock and formed in residuum from Triassic age materials; on similar landforms
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Depth Class: Moderately deep (20 to 40 inches) to hard bedrock
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very deep
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Low to very high
Permeability: Moderately slow or slow
Shrink-Swell Potential: High
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: About one-half of the acreage has been cleared and is used for pasture, hay, and cultivated crops.
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--lespedeza, red clover, small grain, and corn,. Where wooded--upland oaks, hickory, walnut, yellow poplar, sassafras, dogwood, redbud, Virginia pine and red cedar.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina
Extent: Small
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Culpeper County, Virginia, 1943.
REMARKS: The April 1997 relocation of the mesic/thermic line in North Carolina and Virginia triggered the reclassification of Zion to a mesic temerpature regime, with the type location already in Orange County, Virginia, well within the mesic area. The Redbrush series was establised as a mesic counterpart, but being superactive instead of active, and Typic instead of Ultic. A review of lab data and correspondence show that these two series overlapped and did not justify two series. Redbrush was made inactive as a result of the final correlation of Iredell County, North Carolina.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 18 inches (A, E, and BEc horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 18 to 26 inches (Bt horizon)
Lithic contact--bedrock contact at 36 inches (R horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory Data: 96NC169001, 96NC171001, 96NC171004
Database Information:
Typical Pedon Data Mapunit ID--Unknown
TABULAR SERIES DATA:
SOI-5 Soil Name Slope Airtemp FrFr/Seas Precip Elevation VA0042 ZION 2-45 52-57 160-250 40-55 250-1000 VA0227 ZION 2-45 52-57 160-205 40-55 250-1000SOI-5 FloodL FloodH Watertable Kind Months Bedrock Hardness VA0042 NONE >6.0 - - 20-40 HARD VA0227 NONE >6.0 - - 20-40 HARD
SOI-5 Depth Texture 3-Inch No-10 Clay% -CEC- VA0042 0-10 L SIL 0-5 75-100 10-25 - VA0042 0-10 SL FSL 0-5 85-100 5-18 - VA0042 10-18 GRV-CL GR-CL GR-L 0-0 25-50 20-40 - VA0042 18-26 C SIC SICL 0-0 90-100 35-60 - VA0042 26-36 GR-C CL C 0-20 45-95 35-50 - VA0042 36-46 UWB - - - -
VA0227 0-10 GR-L GR-SIL 0-0 50-75 7-27 15-45 VA0227 10-18 GRV-CL GR-CL GR-L 0-0 25-50 20-40 39-71 VA0227 18-26 C SIC SICL 0-0 90-100 35-60 55-82 VA0227 26-36 GR-C CL C 0-20 45-95 35-50 19-59 VA0227 36-46 UWB - - - -
SOI-5 Depth -pH- O.M. Salin Permeab Shnk-Swll VA0042 0-10 4.5-6.0 0.5-2. 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW VA0042 0-10 4.5-6.0 0.5-2. 0-0 2.0-6.0 LOW VA0042 10-18 4.5-6.0 0.0-.5 0-0 0.06-0.6 LOW VA0042 18-26 4.5-7.3 0.0-.5 0-0 0.06-0.6 HIGH VA0042 26-36 5.1-7.3 0.0-.5 0-0 0.2-2.0 HIGH VA0042 36-46 - - - 0.00-0.01
VA0227 0-10 4.5-6.0 0.5-2.0 0-0 0.6-2.0 LOW VA0227 10-18 4.5-6.0 0.0 0.5 0-0 0.06-0.6 LOW VA0227 18-26 4.5-7.3 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.06-0.6 HIGH VA0227 26-36 4.5-7.3 0.0-0.5 0-0 0.2-2.0 HIGH VA0227 36-46 - - - 0.0-0.01