Sand and Coarse Silt Mineralogy of Selected Soils on the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina

Abstract

Abstract Mineralogical characterization studies were made of sandy, loamy, and silty soils on the Pamlico, Talbot, and Wicomico terraces of the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Soils on the Pamlico terrace contain substantial amounts of weatherable minerals (as much as 35%), primarily feldspars. Soils on the higher Talbot and Wicomico terraces contain a stable mineral assemblage (mostly quartz) and only very minor amounts of weatherable minerals (<5%). Drainage class did not influence the sand mineralogy. The relationship between mineralogical composition of these soils and their occurrence on particular terraces is useful from the standpoint of soil classification because it affords a means of delimiting soils which belong to mixed or siliceous mineralogy families on the Lower Coastal Plain.