LOCATION ELSINBORO MD+DE NC VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Elsinboro silt loam - cultivated (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; many roots; 2 percent rounded pebbles; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 12 inches thick)
E--10 to 15 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak medium and coarse granular structure; friable; many roots; few mica flakes; 2 percent rounded fine pebbles; slightly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--15 to 26 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay loam; weak medium blocky and subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky, plastic; many roots; common distinct clay films; common mica flakes; 3 percent round fine pebbles; moderately acid; gradual smooth boundary.
Bt2--26 to 36 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate medium angular blocky and subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky, plastic; few fine roots; thick, distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay films; many mica flakes; 10 percent round fine pebbles; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 18 to 27 inches thick)
2C--36 to 60 inches; red (2.5YR 4/6) gravelly sandy loam; massive and stratified; very friable, slightly sticky; 20 percent rounded pebbles, most less than 1 inch in diameter; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Cecil County, Maryland; about 1.7 miles south-southeast of the community of Barksdale; U.S.G.S. Newark West Topographic Quadrangle. Lat. 39 degrees, 39 minutes, 8.1 seconds N. and Long. 75 degrees, 48 minutes, 14.6 seconds W.; NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 28 to 50 inches. Depth to bedrock is 6 to 20 or more feet. Content of rock fragments which range in size from fine gravel to cobbles varies from 0 to 25 percent and is highest in the 2C horizon. The solum commonly has strata less than 2 inches thick of rounded fine gravels. Soil reaction ranges from strongly acid to very strongly acid in unlimed areas.
The A and Ap horizons have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 through 5 and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or silt loam.
The E horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5 and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or silt loam.
The Bt horizon commonly becomes redder with depth. In the upper part it has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR; in the lower part it has hue of 7.5YR, 5YR or 2.5YR. Value is 3 through 7 and chroma ranges from 4 to 8. The B horizon is loam, silt loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, or sandy clay loam. Sandy clay loam is limited to 2Bt horizons where present. The B horizon can have abrupt textural changes as a result of stratification.
The C or 2C horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 3 to 8. It can be stratified or variegated. Fine earth texture is sandy loam, sandy clay loam, clay loam, fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam. It can be similar to or contrasting with the solum. Where it is contrasting, it is usually more gravelly than the solum.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Allegheny, Allenwood, Cades (T), Chetwynd, Drapermill (T), Frankstown, Gilwood, Glenelg, Leck Kill, Lonon, Murrill, Nixon, Queponco (T), Reybold (T), Rhodhiss (T), Shouns, Tate, Ungers and Whiteford series.
The Albemarle, Arendtsville, Bedington, Bucks, Butano, Chester, Eubanks, Meadowville, Pineville, and Quakertown series were competing under the old classification and are potential competitors pending assignment of cation-exchange activity class.
The Allegheny soils do not contain high amounts of mica. Albemarle, Bedington, Bucks, Chester, Eubanks, Frankstown, Glenelg, Leck Kill, Nixon, Quakertown, Rhodhiss (T), Ungers and Whiteford soils all formed in residuum and/or have angular rock fragments in the soil. Allenwood soils formed in glacial till. Arendtsville soils formed in residuum from fanglomerate. Butano and Chetwynd soils have thicker sola; additionally, Chetwynd soils formed in glacial outwash. Cades (T) soils formed in alluvium derived from materials weathered from metasedimentary rocks. Drapermill (T) and Gilwood (T) soils formed in residuum and are moderately deep to bedrock. Lonon soils have hue redder than 7.5YR throughout the argillic horizon. Meadowville soils have sola thicker than 40 inches and have residual C horizons which are not stratified. Murrill soils formed in colluvium and are underlain by limestone residuum. Pineville, Shouns, and Tate soils formed in colluvium. Queponco (T) and Reybold (T) soils are underlain by fluviomarine deposits.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Elsinboro soils formed in unconsolidated, old alluvium, derived from crystalline rock that contains high amounts of mica. They are on terraces and benches in the northern part of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge and extend along some major streams into the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Slope gradients range from 0 to 15 percent. Slopes are smooth to convex and dissected. Mean annual temperature ranges from 50 to 56 degrees F; mean annual precipitation ranges from 38 to 46 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The competing Chester and Glenelg, along with the related Baile, Delanco, Kinkora, and Matapeake soils are on nearby landscapes. Chester and Glenelg soils are found on uplands and formed in residuum. Delanco soils are moderately well drained. Baile and Kinkora soils are poorly drained. Matapeake soils developed in loess and do not contain mica in the 2C horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate in the solum. The potential for surface runoff is negligible to medium.
USE AND VEGETATION: Elsinboro soils are more than 90 percent cleared. The dominant land uses are agriculture and urban development; urban developments are commonly along major streams. Cropland is in grains, hay, pasture, and minor amounts of truck crops. Native vegetation consists of maple, oaks, poplar, hickory, and beech.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, and Virginia, and potentially New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The soils of this series are not extensive. MLRAs using: 130, 148, 149A
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1936.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a.Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of approximately 10 inches (Ap horizon).
b.Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 15 to 36 inches (Bt1 and Bt2 horizons).
c.Typic Udult feature - the soil is not dry for 90 consecutive days and is very strongly acid in the 2C horizon.
Cation-exchange activity class is based on classification of geographically associated soils.