Soil Series Atlas

Bama soil series

Fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Paleudults

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft5 ft6 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–13 cm · 0–5 inELeached layer13–23 cm · 5–9 inBESubsoil with leached traits23–36 cm · 9–14 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up36–56 cm · 14–22 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up56–104 cm · 22–41 inBt3Subsoil · clay build-up104–173 cm · 41–68 inBt4Subsoil · clay build-up173–188 cm · 68–74 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–13 cm · 0–5 inELeached layer13–23 cm · 5–9 inBESubsoil with leachedtraits23–36 cm · 9–14 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up36–56 cm · 14–22 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up56–104 cm · 22–41 inBt3Subsoil · clay build-up104–173 cm · 41–68 inBt4Subsoil · clay build-up173–188 cm · 68–74 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 188 cm (74 in), 7 horizons.

Ultisols — strongly weathered, leached soils with a clay-enriched subsoil

Nationally Bama is a small series: 312,701 acres, 1,063rd of 24,791 by area. Besides it, only Clarksville and Ruston belong to the great group Paleudults in this atlas. Its biggest share, 88%, is in Alabama, where it ranks 22nd of 439 series. It is the state soil of Alabama.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Well drained
Water movement
Moderate

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Bama is mapped

312,701 acres in 53 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

Alabama: 274,750 acresArizonaColoradoFlorida: 3,177 acresGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippi: 26,833 acresMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginia: 7,941 acresWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Bama acres

  1. Alabama88%
  2. Mississippi9%
  3. Virginia2%
  4. Florida1%
  • Rank in the state · share of its mapped soil
  • Alabama 22nd of 439 · 1.00%
  • Mississippi 123rd of 264 · 0.10%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep

Permeability

Moderate

SlowFast
Parent material
Marine/coastal plain sediments
Landform
Terraces, uplands, coastal plains
Type location
Alabama

How it is classified

  1. OrderUltisols
  2. SuborderUdults
  3. Great groupPaleudults
  4. SubgroupTypic Paleudults
  5. FamilyFine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Paleudultsfine-loamy particle-size classsiliceous mineralogy classsubactive cation-exchange activity classthermic soil temperature regime

Against other Ultisols

Bama makes up 0.17% of all mapped Ultisols — the 146th largest of 1,278 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

188 cm over a median of 142 cm

Depth described

188 cm over a median of 178 cm

Its relatives

3 other established series share the family “Fine-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Typic Paleudults”

  1. Minvale495 k
  2. Bama313 k
  3. Pikeville202 k
  4. Ironcity84 k

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Bama188 cm · Typic Paleudults
  2. Ruston216 cm · Typic Paleudults
  3. Clarksville152 cm · Typic Paleudults

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–13 cm0–5 in13 cm
ELeached layer13–23 cm5–9 in10 cm
BESubsoil with leached traits23–36 cm9–14 in13 cm
Bt1Subsoil: clay build-up36–56 cm14–22 in20 cm
Bt2Subsoil: clay build-up56–104 cm22–41 in48 cm
Bt3Subsoil: clay build-up104–173 cm41–68 in69 cm
Bt4Subsoil: clay build-up173–188 cm68–74 in15 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2021-06), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides