4 SOILS OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVER TERRACE. 



survey. At the present time, with a more carefully worked-out 

 scheme of classification and correlation, a separation of these divisions 

 would be made. 



In the subsequent chapters the soils of the lower, smoother belt 

 and those of the mountainous belt are described under the names 

 Waynesboro and Holston in the former instance and Dekalb in the 

 latter. In this preliminary report a complete discussion of the 

 individual soils, such as would be given in case of a field revision, 

 will not be undertaken. 



In addition to the area of Edgemont stony loam outlined above, an 

 important body of the type is developed over the higher portions of 

 Massanutten Mountain. Altogether 134,656 acres were included in 

 this type in the Albemarle area. The revision here proposed will throw 

 about two-fifths of this area into the better soils of the Holston series, 

 which has been encountered and described in other reports of the soil 

 survey, and of a new series which may be tentatively given the name 

 Waynesboro series. 



It is believed that this report will bring out the relationship of the 

 soils of the two belts with sufficient clearness to answer, with a fair 

 degree of satisfaction at least, the requirements of farmers, experi- 

 ment-station workers, and prospective land buyers. The actual 

 mapping of the several soils would of course be more satisfactory, but 

 as this would entail some considerable delay, it seems advisable to 

 issue this preliminary circular. 



SOILS OF THE LOWER DIVISION OF THE EDGEMONT STONy LOAM. 



The soils of the lower, smoother division of the original Edgemont 

 stony loam referred to above will be discussed in this circular as t wo 

 series the Waynesboro and Holston. The first series includes those 

 soils having red subsoils and the second those having yellow sub- 

 soils. 



Topographic features and extent. This lower division is really a 

 second bottom or terrace of the South and Shenandoah Rivers. The 

 terrace is most extensively developed on the east side of these streams, 

 extending back from the present overflowed bottoms to the foot of the 

 Blue Ridge Mountains, rising through a succession of benches or 

 terraces having a very gradual slope toward the stream. From the 

 1,500-foot contour line as the approximate boundary, the mountains 

 rise eastward with characteristically steep slopes to an elevation of 

 about 2,500 to 3,100 feet above sea level. 



The stream (the South River and Shenandoah River continuation) 

 has cut its channel so deeply that the terrace (Shenandoah terrace) 

 is no longer subject to overflow. There has been considerable erosion 

 over the terrace since the cessation of overflow, but there are still 

 many distinct bluff lines between the series of lower and upper benches 



