Soil Series Atlas

Shelocta soil series

Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludults

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–25 cm · 0–10 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up25–51 cm · 10–20 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up51–81 cm · 20–32 inBt3Subsoil · clay build-up81–117 cm · 32–46 inCParent material117–152 cm · 46–60 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–25 cm · 0–10 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up25–51 cm · 10–20 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up51–81 cm · 20–32 inBt3Subsoil · clay build-up81–117 cm · 32–46 inCParent material117–152 cm · 46–60 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 152 cm (60 in), 5 horizons.

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

With 2.31 million acres mapped, Shelocta is the 24th-largest of 24,791 U.S. soil series. No series covers more of Kentucky: it accounts for 7.0% of the state’s mapped soil. It shares its full family classification with the larger Gilpin, but is described 73 cm deeper, reaches its subsoil 5 cm lower, and has its largest acreage in Kentucky instead of West Virginia.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Well drained
Water movement
Moderate

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Shelocta is mapped

2,312,863 acres in 103 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

Its family-mate Gilpin is larger overall, yet Shelocta covers more ground in Kentucky, Virginia, and Georgia; they overlap in 6 states.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgia: 264 acresIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvania: 39,132 acresSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest Virginia: 15,407 acresIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentucky: 1,589,019 acresMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhio: 385,503 acresOregonTennessee: 83,770 acresUtahVirginia: 199,767 acresWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Shelocta acres

  1. Kentucky69%
  2. Ohio17%
  3. Virginia9%
  4. Tennessee4%
  5. Pennsylvania2%
  6. West Virginia0.7%
  7. Georgia<0.1%
  • Rank in the state · share of its mapped soil
  • Kentucky 1st of 324 · 6.97%
  • Ohio 13th of 513 · 1.63%
  • Virginia 14th of 704 · 0.99%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep

Permeability

Moderate

SlowFast
Parent material
Colluvium, shale, mudstone/siltstone, sandstone, residuum
Landform
Mountains, benches
Type location
Kentucky

How it is classified

Identical to Gilpin at every level.

Against other Ultisols

Shelocta makes up 1.22% of all mapped Ultisols — the 7th largest of 1,278 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

117 cm under a median of 142 cm

Depth described

152 cm under a median of 178 cm

Its relatives

21 established series share the family “Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludults”

By mapped acres Shelocta is 2nd among them. Full family list

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Shelocta152 cm · Typic Hapludults
  2. Gilpin79 cm · Typic Hapludults
  3. Greenwich183 cm · Typic Hapludults
  4. Sassafras178 cm · Typic Hapludults
  5. Downer203 cm · Typic Hapludults
  6. Smithdale211 cm · Typic Hapludults

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–25 cm0–10 in25 cm
Bt1Subsoil: clay build-up25–51 cm10–20 in26 cm
Bt2Subsoil: clay build-up51–81 cm20–32 in30 cm
Bt3Subsoil: clay build-up81–117 cm32–46 in36 cm
CParent material117–152 cm46–60 in35 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2001-04), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides