Pitt County Soil Survey

  1. Soil Survey

Historical Replica - Issued November 1974

SOILS SURVEYED BY EDWIN H. KARNOWSKI, J.B. NEWMAN, JAMES DUNN, AND J.A. MEADOWS, SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE 1

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE, IN COOPERATION WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
figure1b

Figure 1 - Location of Pitt County in North Carolina

PITT COUNTY is on the Coastal Plain in the eastern part of North Carolina (fig1). It is bounded on the east by Beaufort County, on the northeast by Martin County, on the northwest by Edgecombe County, on the west by Wilson and Greene Counties, on the southwest by Lenoir County, and on the south by Craven County. The county has a total land area of 419,890 acres. In 1970 the population was 73,900. Greenville, in the approximate geographical center of the county, is the county seat.

The county is mostly rural, and farming is the main enterprise. A large part of the farm income is derived from the sale of tobacco. The rest is derived mainly from the sales of corn, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, cucumbers, forestry products, dairy products, poultry and poultry products, and livestock.

In 1969 about 153,220 acres was in field crops (11)2, 24,692 acres was in pasture, and 216,400 acres was in woodland (10). In the same year, about 45 percent of the total number of farms was operated by tenant farmers.

About 85 percent of the land in the county is in privately owned farms. The only significant publicly owned lands are the two areas owned by the U.S. Information Agency, Voice of America, and the farm operated by the Pitt County Home.

The soils are nearly level to sloping. The nearly level soils are in the eastern and southeastern parts of the county. The more sloping ones are in the western part and along the southern side of the Tar River and its tributaries. All of the soils are acid. Base saturation is less than 35 percent. Natural fertility is mostly low or very low. Suitable amounts of lime and fertilizer are generally needed to increase the content of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. The content of organic matter is also mostly low or very low, except in some very wet soils, where water has retarded oxidation.


Notes:
1 LEROY HACKER and JAY SHIROZAKI, Soil Conservation Service, also contributed substantially to this survey.

2 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature cited.

Table of Contents

How this survey was made 

General soil associations 

1. Norfolk-Exum-Goldsboro association
2. Roanoke-Lakeland-Altavista association
3. Lynchburg-Rains-Goldsboro association
4. Lenoir-Bladen-Craven association
5. Coxville-Exum association
6. Bibb-Portsmouth association
7. Bladen-Byars association

Descriptions of the soils

Alaga Lynchburg series
Altavista series Masada series
Aycock series Nahunta series
Bibb series Norfolk series
Bladen series Ocilla series
Byars series Olustee series, sandy subsoil variant
Cape Fear series Osier series
Chipley series Pactolus series
Coxville series Pantego series
Craven series Portsmouth series
Exum series Rains series
Goldsboro series Roanoke series
Lakeland series Swamp
Leaf series Tuckerman series
Lenoir series Wagram series
Lenoir series, thin solum variant Wickham series
Use and management of the soils Use of soils for crops and pasture
​Capability grouping
​Management by capability units
​Estimated yields
Woodland uses of soil Woodland resources
​Rating soils for woodland use
​Woodland suitability grouping of soils
Use of soils for wildlife Habitat elements
​Classes of wildlife
Engineering uses of the soils Engineering soil classification systems
​ Engineering test data
​Estimated properties of soils
​ Engineering interpretations
Formation and classification of the soils Factors of soil formation
​Parent material
​Climate Plant and animal life
​Relief Time
​Classification of the soils
General nature of the county Physiography, relief, and drainage
​Water supply
​Climate
​Industry and transportation
​Cultural facilities Farming
Literature cited 
 
Glossary 
 
Guide to mapping units
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Index to Map Sheets

Locate your area of interest on the illustration below. Then click within the boundaries of that area to see the detailed soil map. NOTE THAT EACH MAP SHEET CONSISTS OF TWO SCANS. CLICK ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT OF THE BOXED AREA AS APPROPRIATE.

Original soil survey map sheets were scanned at publication scale. Viewing scale and printing scale, however, may vary from the original. Please rely on the bar scale on each map sheet for proper map measurements. These maps are scanned and do not have the accuracy of standard soil maps.

 

 Click here for the soil legend and the conventional and special symbols legend.