Watauga soil and landscape
Related site:
Soil Profile: A representative soil profile of the Watauga series. Watauga soils are very deep, but most have minimal profile development as indicated by a relatively thin argillic horizon.
Landscape: Watauga soils are on gently sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Slopes range from 2 to 50 percent. Elevation ranges from 1,400 to 4,000 feet. They formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part and are weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks that are high in mica content such as mica gneiss and mica schist. (Photo from the Upper Mountain Research Station, NCSU)
Mica Research Project
In the summer of 2003, a team of soil scientists was assembled to study and evaluate how mica has historically been described in soil profile descriptions (official soil descriptions and field descriptions) and to determine if a need exists to refine quantification and description techniques as related to soil classification and making and interpreting soil maps. In addition to soil scientists, resource specialists (geologists, engineers, research specialists, and university staff) were asked to provide input, guidance, and historical perspective.
For more information about the Mica Research Project, visit:
[www.researchgate.net/publication/363254375_Report_of_the_...]
Upper Mountain Research Station
The station is located in Ashe County at an elevation of 3,200 feet, making it the highest research station in the state. The 454-acre station is host to a variety of research programs centered around Christmas trees, livestock and agriculture. Crops including tobacco, corn, pumpkins, turfgrass and small fruits — blackberries, raspberries and blueberries — are tested for their suitability for high elevations. The station also has a variety of greenhouses.
For more information about the research farm, visit:
cals.ncsu.edu/research/research-stations/upper-mountain-r...
Watauga Soil
The Watauga series consists of very deep, well drained soils on gently sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes of the Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B). Slope ranges from 2 to 50 percent. They formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and is weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks that are high in mica content such as mica gneiss and mica schist.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, micaceous, mesic Typic Hapludults
The solum ranges from 20 to 60 inches thick. Depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Content of coarse fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the A, Ap, AB, or E horizon, and 0 to 15 percent in the B horizon. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid unless limed. Flakes of mica are common or many in the surface layer and upper B horizon and many in the lower B and C horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: About half of the areas of this series is cleared and used for corn, small grain, tobacco, truck crops, hay, or pasture. Some areas are being used for Christmas tree production. Common trees include scarlet oak, chestnut oak, black oak, white oak, hickory, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, and pitch pine. Yellow poplar and northern red oak are common in the northern portions of MLRA 130B. The dominant understory is flowering dogwood, mountain laurel, rhododendron, and sourwood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The series is extensive.
For more information about the "Soil Survey Report of Ashe County, NC", visit:
archive.org/details/asheNC1985
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WATAUGA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit:
Watauga soil and landscape
Related site:
Soil Profile: A representative soil profile of the Watauga series. Watauga soils are very deep, but most have minimal profile development as indicated by a relatively thin argillic horizon.
Landscape: Watauga soils are on gently sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Slopes range from 2 to 50 percent. Elevation ranges from 1,400 to 4,000 feet. They formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part and are weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks that are high in mica content such as mica gneiss and mica schist. (Photo from the Upper Mountain Research Station, NCSU)
Mica Research Project
In the summer of 2003, a team of soil scientists was assembled to study and evaluate how mica has historically been described in soil profile descriptions (official soil descriptions and field descriptions) and to determine if a need exists to refine quantification and description techniques as related to soil classification and making and interpreting soil maps. In addition to soil scientists, resource specialists (geologists, engineers, research specialists, and university staff) were asked to provide input, guidance, and historical perspective.
For more information about the Mica Research Project, visit:
[www.researchgate.net/publication/363254375_Report_of_the_...]
Upper Mountain Research Station
The station is located in Ashe County at an elevation of 3,200 feet, making it the highest research station in the state. The 454-acre station is host to a variety of research programs centered around Christmas trees, livestock and agriculture. Crops including tobacco, corn, pumpkins, turfgrass and small fruits — blackberries, raspberries and blueberries — are tested for their suitability for high elevations. The station also has a variety of greenhouses.
For more information about the research farm, visit:
cals.ncsu.edu/research/research-stations/upper-mountain-r...
Watauga Soil
The Watauga series consists of very deep, well drained soils on gently sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes of the Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B). Slope ranges from 2 to 50 percent. They formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and is weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks that are high in mica content such as mica gneiss and mica schist.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, micaceous, mesic Typic Hapludults
The solum ranges from 20 to 60 inches thick. Depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Content of coarse fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the A, Ap, AB, or E horizon, and 0 to 15 percent in the B horizon. Reaction is very strongly acid to moderately acid unless limed. Flakes of mica are common or many in the surface layer and upper B horizon and many in the lower B and C horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: About half of the areas of this series is cleared and used for corn, small grain, tobacco, truck crops, hay, or pasture. Some areas are being used for Christmas tree production. Common trees include scarlet oak, chestnut oak, black oak, white oak, hickory, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, and pitch pine. Yellow poplar and northern red oak are common in the northern portions of MLRA 130B. The dominant understory is flowering dogwood, mountain laurel, rhododendron, and sourwood.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The series is extensive.
For more information about the "Soil Survey Report of Ashe County, NC", visit:
archive.org/details/asheNC1985
For a detailed description, visit:
soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WATAUGA.html
For acreage and geographic distribution, visit: