Monongahela -- West Virginia State Soil

Photograph of a landscape looking up-valley. The foreground is gently rolling valley floor with recently cut hay and round bales. The valley sides are steep with a forest cover.

Photograph of the profile of a typifying pedon of Monongahela soil series.

Monongahela Soil Profile

Surface layer: dark grayish brown silt loam
Subsurface layer: yellowish brown silt loam
Subsoil - upper: yellowish brown silt loam
Subsoil - lower: a firm, brittle fragipan of light yellowish brown loam
Substratum: strong brown and gray clay loam
 Monongahela soils occur on more than 100,000 acres in 45 counties in West Virginia. These very deep, moderately well drained soils are on alluvial stream terraces that are not flooded. They are used extensively for cultivated crops, hay, pasture, woodland, and homesite development. Monongahela soils are considered prime farmland where slopes are 3 percent or less. The soils are well suited to crop production.

The Monongahela series was designated the official state soil by the West Virginia Legislature in April 1997. The name “Monongahela” is derived from a Native American word meaning “high banks or bluffs, breaking off and falling down in places.” The mean annual precipitation is about 45 inches, and the mean annual temperature is about 51 degrees F.

Small scale map of West Virginia and adjacent states showing distribution of Monongahela soil series.
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