LOCATION CATASKA TN+GA NC VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, semiactive, mesic, shallow Typic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Cataska channery silt loam - forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--0 to 1 inch; partially decomposed forest litter of hardwood leaves and twigs.
A--1 to 2 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) channery silt loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium, and few coarse roots; 20 percent channers by volume; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)
BA--2 to 5 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) channery silt loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium, and few coarse roots; 30 percent channers by volume; strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Bw1--5 to 11 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) very channery silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine, and many medium and coarse roots; common fine and medium pores; 45 percent channers by volume; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--11 to 19 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) very channery silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and coarse, and common medium roots; few fine pores; 50 percent channers by volume; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 8 to 16 inches)
Cr--19 to 23 inches; fractured, partially weathered siltstone. (8 to 60 inches thick)
TYPE LOCATION: Carter County, Tennessee; on Holston Mountain, 2,300 feet south 18 degrees west of the intersection of Flint Mill Trail and Holston Mountain Trail. Carter TN USGS Topographic Quadrangle, Latitude: 36 degrees, 28 minutes, 12 seconds North; Longitude: 82 degrees, 3 minutes, 22 seconds West.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to paralithic contact ranges from 10 to 20 inches. Depth to lithic contact ranges from 20 inches to 4 feet or more. Thickness of solum ranges from about 12 to 20 inches. Amount of rock fragments range from about 15 to 45 percent in the A horizon and from about 35 to 80 percent by volume in the Bw horizon. Fragments are channers, flagstones, or stones of siltstone, phyllite, slate, or metasandstone ranging up to 24 inches across. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam or silt loam. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 5 and chroma of 2 to 6.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 6.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8.
The C horizon, where present, has colors, textures and content of coarse fragments similar to the Bw horizon. Thickness ranges from 0 to 5 inches. Some pedons have thin C horizons with highly variable colors inherent of the underlying rock.
The Cr horizon is mostly tilted siltstone, slate, phyllite, or metasandstone with small amounts of fine-earth in
the fractures in the rock.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Chiswell and Petros series. Chiswell and Petros soils formed in residuum from sedimentary rocks such as shale, siltstone and sandstone, and contain fragments of those rocks.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cataska soils are on the summits and side slopes of mountains in the Blue Ridge (MLRA 130). Elevations range from about 1,500 to 4,500 feet. Slopes are from 5 to 95 percent. The soil formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and weathered from metasedimentary rocks. Estimated mean annual temperature is about 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 46 inches near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brookshire, Citico, Jeffery, Santeetlah, Soco, Spivey, Stecoah and Sylco soils. All of these soils are deeper than 20 inches to bedrock. Brookshire, Citico, Santeetlah, and Spivey soils formed in colluvium on toe slopes, fans, and benches in conves. Jeffrey, Soco, Stecoah, and Sylco soils formed in residuum on adjacent summits and side slopes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderately rapid or rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Practically all areas are in forest. Cleared areas are used for wildlife plantings. Forest consists chiefly of chestnut and scarlet oak, sourwood, red maple and pitch pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Blue Ridge Mountains (MLRA 130) of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Lexington, Kentucky
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Monroe County, Tennessee; 1974.
REMARKS: The 3/99 revision updates classification to the 8th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy. The 4/00 revision represents the movement of the official type location from Monroe County, TN to Carter County, TN.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - from the mineral soil surface to 5 inches (A and BA horizons).
Cambic horizon - the zone from 5 to 19 inches (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons)
Paralithic contact - the occurrence of soft weathered bedrock at 19 inches.
SIR = TN0071; TN0133, stony