Soil Survey of Murray and Whitfield Counties, Georgia

208 Soil Survey
Shelocta Series
Major land resource area: Southern Blue Ridge
Landform: Mountains
Parent material: Colluvium from metasandstone and phyllite
Depth class: Very deep
Drainage class: Well drained
Depth to seasonal high water table: More than 6.0 feet
Permeability: Moderate
Slope range: 2 to 15 percent
Classification: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, thermic Typic Hapludults
Geographically Associated Soils
Cataska and Tsali soils, which have phyllite and metasandstone bedrock at a depth
of 10 to 20 inches and are in the higher landscape positions
Craigsville soils, which have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the control
section and are on flood plains
Junaluska soils, which have phyllite and metasandstone bedrock at a depth of 20 to
40 inches
Suches soils, which have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the control section
and are on flood plains
Typical Pedon
Shelocta channery loam, 2 to 15 percent slopes; 4.1 miles south on Mountain Road
from intersection of Georgia Highway 52 and Mountain Road, 4.0 miles east on
Peoples Lake Road, 0.3 mile northeast on Forest Service road, 100 feet east of road;
Murray County, Georgia; USGS topographic quadrangle, Ramhurst, GA (1979); lat. 34
degrees 44 minutes 52 seconds N. and long. 84 degrees 40 minutes 15 seconds W.
A—0 to 4 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) channery loam; moderate fine
granular structure; very friable; common fine roots; 15 percent phyllite channers;
strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
Bt1—4 to 12 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) channery silty clay loam; moderate
medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few faint clay films on
faces of peds; 15 percent phyllite channers; very strongly acid; clear wavy
boundary.
Bt2—12 to 30 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) channery silty clay loam; moderate
medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few faint clay films on
faces of peds; 25 percent phyllite channers; very strongly acid; clear wavy
boundary.
Bt3—30 to 45 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) silty clay loam; moderate coarse
subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of
peds; 10 percent phyllite or sandstone channers; very strongly acid; clear wavy
boundary.
C1—45 to 52 inches; variegated yellowish brown (10Y 5/6) and brownish yellow (10YR
6/6) channery loam; massive; friable; 10 percent phyllite or sandstone channers;
very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
C2—52 to 60 inches; variegated yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and brownish yellow
(10YR 6/6) very channery loam; massive; friable; 30 percent phyllite channers;
very strongly acid.
Range in Characteristics
Thickness of the solum: 40 to more than 60 inches
Depth to soft bedrock: More than 60 inches
Depth to hard bedrock: More than 60 inches