LOCATION COWEE NC+GA VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, parasesquic, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Cowee gravelly sandy loam--forested. (Colors are for moist soil).
Oi--0 to 2 inch; slightly decomposed leaves, twigs, roots, and other organic matter.
A--2 to 7 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) gravelly sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 20 percent by volume gneiss gravel; common fine and medium flakes of mica; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--7 to 15 inches; red (2.5YR 4/8) gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; common fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent by volume gneiss gravel; common fine and medium flakes of mica; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--15 to 29 inches; red (2.5YR 5/8) gravelly sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of peds; 30 percent by volume gneiss gravel; common fine and medium flakes of mica; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 10 to 28 inches.)
Cr--29 to 62 inches; weathered, multicolored hornblende gneiss; that can be dug with difficulty with hand tools; rock structure; partly consolidated in place; few fine roots in cracks; cracks are more than 4 inches apart.
TYPE LOCATION: Jackson County, North Carolina; 1.1 miles northeast of Cullowhee from the Tuckasegee River on old N.C. Highway 107; 1.7 miles north of Black Mountain Baptist Church; 0.5 mile north on U.S. Forest Service access road and 500 feet east on U.S. Forest Service Trail, 25 feet north of trail.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum is 15 to 39 inches thick. Depth to paralithic contact at the upper boundary of the Cr horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches below the surface. Depth to lithic contact is more than 40 inches.
The A horizons are extremely acid to moderately acid except where surface layers have been limed, and the B and C horizons are very strongly acid or strongly acid. Content of flakes of mica ranges from few to common throughout. Content of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent by volume throughout.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 8Where value is 3 or less, this horizon is less than 7 inches thick. This horizon is commonly loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine earth fraction.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine earth fraction.
The BA horizon or BE horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR to 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. Texture is loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine earth fraction.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. In addition, subhorizons of the Bt horizon, but not the entire Bt horizon, may have hue of 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. The Bt horizon is sandy clay loam, loam, clay loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine earth fraction.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam in the fine earth fraction.
The C/Bt horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8; or it is multicolored. Non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of red, brown, or yellow are in some pedons. In the C part, it is saprolite that has a texture of sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine earth fraction. In the Bt part, texture is loam or sandy clay loam.
The C horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8; or it is multicolored. Non-redoximorphic mottles in shades of red, brown, or yellow are in some pedons. It is saprolite that has a texture of sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine earth fraction.
The Cr horizon is weathered, multicolored felsic to mafic, igneous and high-grade metamorphic rock. It is partly consolidated but can be dug with difficulty with hand tools. The upper boundary is considered as a paralithic contact. Roots, where present, are in cracks or seams spaced more than 4 inches apart.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brevard, Evard, Stott Knob (T), and Walhalla series. Brevard, Evard, and Walhalla soils are very deep (greater than 60 inches) to weathered bedrock. Stott Knob soils formed in residuum from metamorphic and igneous rocks at lower elevations in the Southern Piedmont (MLRA 136).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cowee soils are on gently sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes of low and intermediate mountains in the Blue Ridge (MLRA 130). Elevations range from 1,400 to 4,000 feet. Slopes are typically between 15 and 50 percent but range from 2 to 95 percent. Cowee soils formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part and weathered from felsic to mafic, igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks such as mica gneiss, hornblende gneiss, and amphibolite. Mean annual temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from about 35 to 65 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Brevard, Evard and the closely related Edneytown, and Pigeonroost series, these are Ashe, Chestnut, Cleveland, Clifton, Edneyville, Fannin, Huntdale, Plott, Porters, Rabun, Saluda, Trimont, Unaka, and Walhalla, and Watauga series. Edneytown and Pigeonroost soils are 7.5YR or browner. Additionally, Pigeonroost soils have a paralithic contact with weathered bedrock at 20 to 40 inches. Clifton soils have a fine particle size class. Ashe, Chestnut, Cleveland, Edneyville, Plott, Porters, and Unaka soils do not have an argillic horizon. Saluda soils have a paralithic contact with weathered bedrock at less than 20 inches. Fannin, and Watauga soils are in a paramicaceous mineralogy class. Rabun soils have argillic horizon with value 3 or less and are in a fine particle-size class. Saunook, Trimont, and Thunder soils have surface horizons with Humic features which are greater than or equal to 7 inches thick.. Huntdale, Plott, Porters, and Unaka have umbric epipedons. All these soils formed on ridges and side slopes except Brevard, Saunook, and Thunder soils which are on colluvial benches, toe slopes, and fans. Also, Huntdale, Plott, Porters, Trimont, and Unaka soils are on ridges and side slopes of cooler, north to east aspects.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability. Runoff class is low on gentle slopes, medium on strong or moderately steep slopes, and high on steeper slopes. Runoff is much lower where forest litter has little or no disturbance.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the soil is in forest. Common trees are chestnut oak, white oak, scarlet oak, black oak, and hickory with some eastern white pine, Virginia pine, pitch pine, and shortleaf pine. The understory includes flowering dogwood, American chestnut sprouts, sourwood, mountain laurel, flame azalea, blueberry, and buffalo nut. Cleared areas are used for pasture and hayland.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Blue Ridge (MLRA 130) of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Lexington, Kentucky
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Alexander County, North Carolina; 1988. The name is from the Cowee mountains in Macon County, North Carolina.
REMARKS: The Cowee series describes soils that are intermediate in depth to soft bedrock between the shallow Saluda and very deep Evard series. Formerly, they were included with these soils.
The 12/97 revision places the Cowee series in a fine-loamy, parasesquic, mesic Typic Hapludults family. The series was formerly in a mixed mineralogy family. CEC activity class placement is based on sample pedon S85-NC-099-003 and on similar soils such as Brevard and Evard.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 7 inches (Oi and A horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone from 7 to 29 inches (Bt horizons).
Paralithic contact - the contact with weathered rock at 29 inches (upper boundary of the Cr horizon).
Parasesquic mineralogy class - total iron oxide, by weight (DCB Fe multiplied by 1.43) plus percent, by weight, gibbsite of more than 10 in the fine-earth fraction.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
MLRA: 130 SIR(s): NC0171, NC0241 (Stony)
Revised: 10/92-MLS,AG,CD; 1/98-DHK; 2/02-MKC