LOCATION LATHAM OH+KY WVEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, semiactive, mesic Aquic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Latham silt loam - on a 20 percent north facing
convex slope in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--2 to 0 inches; partly decomposed mixed hardwood leaf litter.
A--0 to 2 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam, light
brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and very fine roots; 10 percent fragments of siltstone; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
E--2 to 8 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; firm; many very fine and few fine roots; 10 percent fragments of siltstone; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 15 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots; many faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent fragments of siltstone; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt2--15 to 22 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay;
common fine prominent pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) and yellowish red (5YR 5/8) mottles; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few very fine roots; many distinct pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay films on faces of peds; few fragments of siltstone; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bt3--22 to 34 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) silty clay; many fine prominent pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) and common fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) mottles; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm; few very fine roots; many prominent light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) clay films on faces of peds; few fragments of siltstone and 15 percent fragments of soft shale; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 15 to 30 inches.)
Cr--34 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) and light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) soft shale interbedded with some thin layers of yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) siltstone.
TYPE LOCATION: Pike County, Ohio; about 2 miles north of Waverly;
Pee Pee Township, about 5,400 feet north of the intersection of Prussia Road (CR-46) and Denver Road (CR-47) along Prussia Road then about 810 feet southwest.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum and depth to the paralithic contact ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments, mainly thin fragments of shale and siltstone, are less than 15 percent in the A horizon and E horizon and commonly less than 20 percent in the Bt horizon, but in some pedons range to 30 percent mainly in the lower part and also in BC and C horizons of some pedons. The particle
size control section is 35 to 55 percent clay.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or
3. Some pedons have an Ap horizon that has hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5 (6 or 7 dry), and chroma of 2 to 4. The A or Ap horizon is typically silt loam, but the Ap includes silty clay loam, where eroded. They are strongly acid to extremely acid, unless limed.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 2 to
4. It is strongly acid to extremely acid.
Some pedons have a BA horizon or BE horizon.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5Y, 10YR, or 7.5YR, value of 4 to 6,
and chroma of 2 to 8. Mottles are both high and low chroma, but low chroma are more common in the lower part of the argillic horizon. The Bt horizon is silty clay loam, silty clay, or their channery analogs. It is very strongly acid or extremely acid.
Some pedons have a BC horizon or C horizon 4 to 6 inches thick. It has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 or 6, chroma of 2 to 6, and is mottled. It is silty clay loam, silty clay, or their channery analogs. It is very strongly acid or extremely acid.
Bedrock consists of partially weathered soft shale with thin strata of siltstone in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Cruze,
Donlonton,
Keyport, and
Zoar series in the same family and the
Coolville,
Rarden, and
Trappist series. Cruze, Donlonton, Keyport, and Zoar soils lack a
paralithic contact at a depth of less than 40 inches. Coolville and Rarden soils have more than 35 percent base saturation. In addition, Coolville soils have thicker sola and a greater depth to bedrock and Rarden soils typically have redder hue. Trappist soils lack low chroma mottles within the upper 24 inches of the agrillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Latham soils typically are on backslopes and shoulders on the dissected Allegheny Plateau, and in some areas on narrow summits. Slopes typically are 8 to 40 percent but range
from 2 to 70 percent. The soils formed in residuum from soft acid shale. In some areas, strata of more resistant bedrock such as siltstone are included with the shale. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 35 to 45 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from about 52 to 54 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing
Coolville and
Rarden soils and the
Berks,
Brownsville,
Gilpin,
Lily,
Shelocta,
Steinsburg, and
Wharton soils. Coolville soils have a silt mantle and typically are on broader interfluves above Latham soils or on broad benches. Rarden soils commonly are on broader, more stable summits than Latham soils but in some places are on similar positions.
Berks and Brownsville soils have less clay and more coarse fragments. They are on summits and upper shoulders that are dominated by siltstone. Gilpin, Lily, and Shelocta soils are fine-loamy and have brown colors in the subsoil. Gilpin and Lily soils are on narrow summits and are moderately deep; whereas, Shelocta soils are on colluvial slopes or benches and are deep to bedrock. Steinsburg soils are coarse-loamy and are on narrow summits or upper shoulders that are dominated by sandstone. Wharton soils are on benches or footslopes. They are deep to bedrock and are mottled in the lower part of the subsoil.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Surface
runoff is medium to very rapid. Permeability is slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: More than 50 percent of this soil is forested with oaks and hickory the main species. Some areas are used for pasture and some for cropland. Corn, wheat, oats, and mixed hay are the main crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern and eastern Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Adams County, Ohio, 1932.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to pedon PK-12 for laboratory data on the typical pedon.