LOCATION UPSHUR WV+KY OH PA TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Upshur silty clay-woodland, formerly cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless
otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate fine granular structure; firm, slightly
sticky; many roots; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--7 to 16 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, very
sticky, very plastic; common roots; many distinct reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 18 inches thick)
Bt2--16 to 31 inches; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) clay; strong medium subangular blocky structure; firm, very sticky, very plastic; common roots; many prominent clay films on faces of peds; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (6 to 20 inches thick)
Bt3--31 to 42 inches; weak red (10R 4/3) silty clay; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm, very sticky, very plastic; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 15 inches thick)
C1--42 to 54 inches; dusky red (10R 3/3) silty clay loam; massive; firm; common black manganese coatings; neutral; clear wavy boundary.
C2--54 to 72 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) silty clay; massive; firm; neutral. (Combined
thickness of the C horizon is 5 to 40 inches.)
Cr--72 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) calcareous shale.
TYPE LOCATION: Wood County, West Virginia; 1/4 mile southwest of Keller Lane, 1 3/4 miles southeast of Boaz.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 26 to 50 inches. Depth to paralithic contact ranges from 40 to more than 72 inches. Shale rock fragments range from 0 to 15 percent in the A and Bt1 horizons, 0 to 25 percent in the Bt2, Bt3 and BC horizons, and 0 to 75 percent in the C horizon. The particle-size control section averages 35 to 60 percent clay and less than 10 percent sand. Unlimed soils range from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the A horizon, very strongly acid to moderately alkaline in the Bt horizons, and strongly acid to moderately alkaline
in the C horizon.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR through 2.5YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture of the fine earth material is silt loam, silty clay loam, silty clay or clay.
The BA horizon,when present, is 2 to 5 inches thick with hue of 7.5YR or 5YR, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 4 through 6. Texture of the fine earth material is silt loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR, 2.5YR, or 10R, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture of the fine earth material is silty clay or clay.
The BC horizon, when present has hue of 5YR, 2.5YR, or 10R, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture of the fine earth material is silty clay loam, silty clay, or clay.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR, 2.5YR, or 10R, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 to 6. Some pedons have lithochromic mottles of olive, olive brown, or yellow. Texture of the fine earth material is typically silty clay loam, silty clay or clay with the range including silt loam or clay loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Beasley,
Bland,
Bledsoe,
Bonnell,
Brashear,
Bratton,
Briggsville,
Bucklick,
Caneyville,
Chrome,
Cosperville,
Derinda,
Donahue,
Eden,
Edenton,
Elba,
Eldean,
Estate,
Faywood,
Fredonia,
Hagerstown,
Heitt,
Heverlo,
Jessup,
Kewaunee,
Lamoille,
Lowell,
Markland,
Milton,
Mountpleasant,
Muncie,
Newnata,
Paintcreek,
Redbrush(T),
Shrouts, Solway(T),
Vandalia,
Woodsfield, and
Wynn series. The Beasley, Bledsoe, Bonnell, Brashear,
Brookside, Cosperville, Elba,
Gunlock, Heverlo, Jessup, Lowell, Markland, Mountpleasant, Muncie, Newnata,
Ozaukee, and
Winnegan soils have hue of 7.5YR or yellower in the Bt horizon. The Bland, Bratton, Caneyville, Chrome, Derinda, Donahue, Eden, Edenton, Faywood, Fredonia, Milton, Redbrush (T), Shrouts, Solway(T), and Wynn soils have lithic or paralithic contact at 20 to 40 inches. Briggsville soils are in a drier climate, formed in glacialfluvial sediments and have free carbonates in the C horizon. Bucklick soils have a lithologic discontinuity in the Bt horizon, are moderately permeable, and formed in a thin layer of loess over residuum. Eldean soils have stratified gravelly and very gravelly sand and loamy sand in the lower part of the particle-size control section. Estate soils formed in loamy residuum derived from interbedded sandstone and limestone. Hagerstown soils have moderate permeability, typically have limestone rock fragments in the lower part of the solum, and formed in residuum derived from hard gray limestone. Heitt soils have hue of 7.5YR or yellower in the lower part of the Bt horizon. Kewaunee soils have free carbonates immediately below the solum and typically contain gravel sized rock fragments of mixed lithology in the solum. Lamoille,
Vincent, and Woodsfield soils have lithologic discontinuity
within a depth of 40 inches.
Losantville soils have a solum less than 20 inches thick and have free carbonates above a depth of 20 inches.
Medary soils are in a drier climate and formed in clayey slackwater or glacial deposits with a thin mantle of loess.
Miamian soils have free carbonates within a depth of 40 inches and typically have hue of 7.5YR or yellower in the Bt horizon. Paintcreek soils have a solum thickness of greater than 50 inches. Vandalia soils
have rock fragments of sandstone and contain more than 10 percent sand in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Upshur soils are on ridgetops, benches, and hillsides. Slope ranges from 0 to 70 percent. The soil formed in residuum derived from clay shale and in places interbedded with thin layers of siltstone. Near the type location the mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 45 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 50 to 59 degrees F. The growing season ranges from 120 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Belpre,
Brooke,
Culleoka,
Gilpin,
Guernsey,
Muskingum,
Westmoreland,
Summitville,
Vandergrift soils and the competing
Elba,
Lowell,
Vandalia, and
Woodsfield soils. Belpre soils have a darker colored surface horizon. The Brooke, Culleoka, Gilpin and Muskingum soils have bedrock within a depth of 20 to 40 inches and hue of 7.5YR or yellower. Guernsey and Vandergrift soils have redoximorphic features with chroma of 2 or less in the upper 10 inches of the argillic horizon. In addition, Guernsey soils have hue of 7.5YR or yellower. The
Westmoreland and Summitville soils have 18 to 35 percent clay in the particle-size control section. In addition, Westmoreland soils have hue of 7.5YR or yellower.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are mainly areas that were formerly cleared and used for pasture, hay, and grain crops. Many areas have reverted to woodland. Mixed hardwood, mainly oaks, hickory, and yellow poplar are dominant species.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western and central West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio, and northeastern Kentucky. MLRA 124,126. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Upshur County, West Virginia, 1905.
REMARKS: Many of the shale fragments described in the field break down during lab analysis. This soil property was taken into consideration with the percent passing sieve NO. 10 on the old soil interpretation record. Appropriate adjustments have been made to this series description by eliminating
references to soft shale fragments and related modifiers.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 7 inches (Ap horizon).
b. Argillic horizon - the zone from 7 to 42 inches (Bt1, Bt2 and Bt3 horizons).