The Bulletin 15 



Fuiiii lands in the vicinity of Charlotte are held at $150 to $500 an acre; 

 within G to 10 miles of the city the value ranges from $50 to $100; and 

 the rougher areas and those more remote from railronrls and markets 

 bring $20 to $50 an acre. 



GEOLOGY AND ORIGIN OF SOILS 



Mecklenburg County lies wholly within the piedmont plateau region, 

 which extends from the Hudson Kiver to east-central Alabama, attain- 

 ing its greatest width in ISTorth Carolina. The important geological 

 formations are the granites, gneisses, schists, diorites, mica diorites, and 

 gabbros. These rocks vary in their chemical and physical composition. 

 The disintegration and weathering of these give soils of different color, 

 structure, texture and varying in the elements of plant food. The soils 

 contain some of the same minerals as are found in the original rocks 

 from which the soils are derived. All of the upland soils are residual 

 in origin — that is, derived in places from the decay of the underlying- 

 rocks. 



Extending across the north-central part of the county from the Ca- 

 tawba Kiver west of Spurrier to the Cabarrus line, light-colored coarse- 

 grained granite occurs. These are composed of orthoclase, feldspar, 

 quartz, and some mica, and in weathering form the Durham sandy loam 

 and part of the Cecil coarse sandy loam. 



In the southern end of the county, in Steel Creek, Pineville and Provi- 

 dence townships, and on the northeast side between the County Home 

 and the Cabarrus County line and on the western border near Mount 

 Holly Ferry, the diorites, mica diorites, and gabbros are encountered. 

 These are dark green to slick black in color, massive rocks, and com- 

 posed of plagioclase, feldspar, hornblende, mica, apatite, and magnetite. 

 These rocks are seen on the surface in a few places, and generally the 

 rotten rock is reached at from 20 to 36 inches below the surface. The 

 Mecklenburg and Iredell soils have been derived from these rocks. The 

 Mecklenburg soils differ from the Iredell in having a redder color and 

 the oxidation of the minerals has proceeded further. In many places a 

 dark red soil is the result of better drainage and more thorough oxida- 

 tion. 



Bordering the Union County line and extending in a narrow strip for 

 4 miles to the Cabarrus County line an area of slate rock is found, 

 which extends across several counties to the east and north. The 

 weathering of this slate gives a smooth floury soil classed as Alamance 

 silt loam. 



By far the greater part of the county -is underlain by medium tex- 

 tured granites, gneisses, and to a less exteirt- by schists. The granites 

 are noticeable in the southwest corner of the county, easl of Davidson, 

 and through the centra:^ part around Charlotte. These rocks give rise 

 to the Cecil soils, and in many places the texture of the various soils is 

 due to surface erosion and to the carrying aAvay of the fine material by 



