LOCATION WHEELING WV+IL IN KY OH PA VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Wheeling silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
E--10 to 14 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bt--14 to 34 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular or blocky structure; common distinct dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) clay films on faces of peds; firm; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (18 to 24 inches thick)
BC1--34 to 58 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very fine sandy loam; few distinct streaks and spots of brown (7.5YR 5/4); weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few faint dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) clay films in pores in upper part of horizon; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 30 inches thick)
2BC2--58 to 60 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/2) very gravelly sandy loam; very weak coarse subangular blocky structure;friable; few clay films on sand grains with clay bridging; strongly acid; diffuse boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
C--60 to 72 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) stratified very gravelly sand composed of sandstone, shale and quartzite; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Wood County, West Virginia; in a gravel pit two miles southeast of the Marietta Bridge and within 300 feet of Ohio River, opposite Buckley Island.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 60 inches or more. The content of rock fragments in the solum ranges from 0 to 35 percent. The percent of clay averages between 18 and 30 in the particle size control section. In some areas there are noticeable mica flakes throughout the profile. Unlimed soils range from strongly acid to moderately acid throughout the profile.
The A and Ap horizons have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. In pedons where the moist value is 3 the dry value is 6. Textures are fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. Textures are fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loam, or silt loam.
Some pedons have BA or BE horizons with hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is loam or silt loam.
The Bt horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is loam, silt loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The BC horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is very fine sandy loam or sandy loam in the fine- earth fraction. Some pedons have a 2BC horizon, which generally contains about 15 percent or more rounded gravels. These gravels are commonly quartz, granite, and other rocks and minerals associated with glacial outwash.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. This horizon is commonly stratified in textures of sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, and very fine to medium grained sand. A sandy textured 2C horizon may be present in some pedons. This horizon may up to 65 percent rounded gravels of glacial origin.
COMPETING SERIES: The Alanthus, Athol, Cateache, Culleoka, Door, Duffield, Dumfries, Frondorf, Grayford, Hayter, Kell, Lamotte, Legore, Loudonville, Mechanicsburg, Morrison, Myersville, Oatlands, Pasturerock, Spriggs, Westmoreland, and Williamsburg series are in the same family. The Alanthus soils formed in residuum of metabasalt and greenstone schist. The Athol soils have Bt horizons with hues redder than 7.5YR. The Cateache and Oatlands soils have Bt horizons with hue redder than 7.5YR, and solum thickness and depth to bedrock less than 40 inches. The Culleoka, Frondorf, Loudanville, and Spriggs soils have solum thickness of less than 40 inches and depth to bedrock of less than 40 inches The Door soils have a mollic epipedon. The Duffield and Morrison soils have argillic horizons which extend below 40 inches, and developed from residuum. The Dumfries soils have solum thickness less than 40 inches, and formed in feldspathic sandy sediments of the Coastal Plain. The Ebbing soils are moderately well drained. The Grayford soils have bedrock at a depth less than 60 inches and contain more clay in the lower solum. The Hayter soils formed in colluvium weathered from sandstone, shale, and minor amounts of limestone in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province, and have high chroma mottles throughout the Bt horizon. The Kell soils formed in loamy drift over residuum from acid sandstone, siltstone, and shale. The Lamotte soils formed in a thin layer of loess and in the underlying residuum weathered from sandstone, and do not have water rounded coarse fragments in the particle size control section. The Legore, Mechanicsburg, Myersville, and Westmoreland soils have solum thickness of less than 40 inches. The Legore soils, in addition, have saprolite in the series control section. The Pasturerock soils formed in colluvium derived from sandstone, siltstone, and shale. The Williamsburg soils have solum thickness greater than 60 inches and have evidence of degradation above and in the upper part of the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wheeling soils formed in silty or loamy material underlain at more than 40 inches by noncalcareous sand or sand and gravel. Wheeling soils are on nearly level river terraces. Slopes are dominantly 0 to 8 percent, but range to 55 percent along the breaks between terrace levels and in local dissected areas. They are subject to none to rare flooding. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 55 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 47 to 57 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Allegheny, Ashton, Chavies, Duncannon, Gallipolis, Ginat, Huntington, Lakin, Sciotoville, and Weinbach series. The Allegheny, Ashton, Chavies, Gallipolis, Ginat, Sciotoville, and Weinbach soils are on similar landforms and terrace levels. Allegheny soils have a base saturation of less than 35 percent, and are not commonly underlain by glacial outwash. Ashton soils have a thick dark surface and are higher in silt content. Chavies soils have less than 18 percent clay Gallipolis and Sciotoville soils are moderately well drained. In addition, Sciotoville soils have a fragipan. Ginat soils are poorly drained, and are in depressions. Weinbach soils are somewhat poorly drained. Duncannon and Lakin soils are on nearby landforms. This landform is generally dune-like in appearance (suggesting a windblown origin), and is adjacent to the residual hillsides at the edges of river valleys. Duncannon soils are coarse-silty, and Lakin soils are sandy and contain lamellae. The Huntington soils are on lower landscape positions subjected to flooding. They have a thick dark surface and do not have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff potential is low to medium. Permeability is moderate.
USE AND VEGETATION: Many areas of Wheeling soils along the Ohio River are used for industrial and residential sites. General and specialized farm crops are grown in some areas, including corn, wheat, soybean, clover, alfalfa, melons, tomatoes, and potatoes. The natural vegetation was chiefly hardwoods, including oaks, hickory, maple, and walnut. However, wooded acreage is limited to the steeper slopes.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. Total extent is large.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wheeling area, West Virginia, 1906.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 14 inches (Ap and E horizons).
2. Argillic horizon - the zone from 14 to 34 inches (Bt horizon).