Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Major Land Resource Area 153B
Major Land Resource Area
Accessed: 04/23/2026
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Next, learn more about the selected ecological site and its characteristic dynamics by browsing the ecological site description and exploring alternative state and transition model formats.
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Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
Ecological site photos
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precipitation
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Precipitation
Frost free days
Elevation
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Landform
Parent material kind
Soil texture
: Marine Terrace Uplands - Positioned on a marine terrace or associated landforms. These sites do not include coastline and island landscapes. They may however include upper fluvio-marine terraces that are above the current dominant flooding regime.
: Riparian Zone - Positioned on a riparian landscape, including fluvial terraces and flood plains, connected directly to surface water and flooding.
: Coastline - Positioned along a coastline landscape
: Upland flats and landforms with local topographic relief: knolls, ridges, crests, interstream divides, shoulders, slopes, and Bay rims
: Flats and Depressions: Areas characterized by a continuous surface that is smooth, even, or horizontal, or nearly so, including isolated depressions within the flat landscape matrix
Order: Predominantly psamments (sands)
Order: Predominantly Ultisols, but includes some alfisols, inceptisols, and mollisols.
: Dry sands, excessively drained to well drained, typic quartzipsamments.
F153BY010NC – Dry Sands
F153BY010NC – Dry Sands
: Moist sands on moderately well drained to somewhat poorly drained soils.
F153BY020NC – Moist Sands
F153BY020NC – Moist Sands
: Dry, somewhat excessively drained to well drained.
: Soil Texture Particle Size loamy. Includes fine-silty, fine-loamy, loamy, and coarse-loamy taxonomic textural families.
F153BY030NC – Dry Loamy Rises and Flats
F153BY030NC – Dry Loamy Rises and Flats
Order: Predominantly Ultisols, but includes some alfisols, inceptisols, and mollisols.
Order: Spodosols
Order: Histosols
F153BY080NC – Wet Organic Soil Flats and Depressions
F153BY080NC – Wet Organic Soil Flats and Depressions
: Moist, moderately well drained to somewhat poorly drained.
: Wet, poorly drained and very poorly drained. Some ponding.
: Soil Texture Particle Size loamy. Includes fine-silty, fine-loamy, loamy, and coarse-loamy taxonomic textural families.
F153BY040NC – Moist Loamy Rises and Flats
F153BY040NC – Moist Loamy Rises and Flats
: Soil Texture Particle Size clay. Includes the fine taxonomic textural family
F153BY045NC – Moist Clay Rises and Flats
F153BY045NC – Moist Clay Rises and Flats
: Soil Texture Particle Size loamy. Includes fine-silty, fine-loamy, loamy, and coarse-loamy taxonomic textural families.
F153BY060NC – Wet Loamy Flats and Depressions
F153BY060NC – Wet Loamy Flats and Depressions
: Soil Texture Particle Size clay. Includes the fine taxonomic textural family
F153BY065NC – Wet Clay Flats and Depressions
F153BY065NC – Wet Clay Flats and Depressions
: Moist, moderately well to somewhat poorly drained.
F153BY050NC – Moist Spodosol Rises and Flats
F153BY050NC – Moist Spodosol Rises and Flats
: Wet, poorly drained and very poorly drained. Some ponding.
F153BY070NC – Wet Spodosol Flats and Depressions
F153BY070NC – Wet Spodosol Flats and Depressions
Order: Flooded, mineral soils include alfisols, entisols, and inceptisols
F153BY090NC – Flooded Mineral Soil Flood Plains and Terraces
F153BY090NC – Flooded Mineral Soil Flood Plains and Terraces
Order: Flooded Histosols
F153BY100NC – Flooded Organic Soil Flood Plains and Terraces
F153BY100NC – Flooded Organic Soil Flood Plains and Terraces
: Coastal strand, beach, dune, and dune slack
: Tidal Marsh
: Subaqueous - *DISCLAIMER* - These sites are under development and will be updated and created following Coastal Zone Soil Survey mapping projects throughout this MLRA
: Non-wet coastal sands, excessively drained to somewhat poorly drained.
R153BY110NC – Coastal Strand, Beaches, and Dunes
R153BY110NC – Coastal Strand, Beaches, and Dunes
: Poorly drained wet dune slack.
R153BY120NC – Wet Dune Slack
R153BY120NC – Wet Dune Slack
Order: Tidal Marsh on mineral soils
R153BY130NC – Tidal Marsh on Mineral Soil
R153BY130NC – Tidal Marsh on Mineral Soil
Order: Tidal Marsh on organic soils
R153BY140NC – Tidal Marsh on Organic Soil
R153BY140NC – Tidal Marsh on Organic Soil
: water salinity at these sites is typically greater than 0.5 but less than or equal to 5 parts per thousand
R153BY220NC – Oligohaline estuarine deep sandy subaqueous habitats
R153BY220NC – Oligohaline estuarine deep sandy subaqueous habitats
: water salinity at these sites is typically greater than 5 but less than or equal to 18 parts per thousand
R153BY230NC – Mesohaline estuarine subaqueous habitats
R153BY230NC – Mesohaline estuarine subaqueous habitats
: Water salinity at these sites is typically greater than 18 parts per thousand
R153BY240NC – Saline estuarine subaqueous habitats
R153BY240NC – Saline estuarine subaqueous habitats
Long term average mean annual precipitation
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cm
Long term average frost free days
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- 230 – 250days
—
days
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- 0 – 200m (0 – 700ft)
—
m
- No filter
- 0 – 3%
- 3 – 5%
- 5 – 10%
—
%
- No filter
- Barrier island
- Beach
- Carolina Bay
- Depression
- Drainageway
- Dune
- Flat
- Flood plain
- Interdune
- Marine terrace
- Pocosin
- Ridge
- Rise
- Swale
- Swamp
- Terrace
- Tidal marsh
- No filter
- Alluvium
- Beach sand
- Eolian deposits
- Eolian sands
- Fluviomarine deposits
- Marine deposits
- Organic, herbaceous material
- Organic, unspecified
- Organic, woody material
Soil surface texture
- No filter
- Clay
- Fine sand
- Fine sandy loam
- Loam
- Loamy fine sand
- Loamy sand
- Sand
- Silt
- Silty clay
- Silty clay loam
- Silt loam
- Sandy loam
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Ecological site keys
MLRA 153B - Tidewater Area
Landscape
: Marine Terrace Uplands - Positioned on a marine terrace or associated landforms. These sites do not include coastline and island landscapes. They may however include upper fluvio-marine terraces that are above the current dominant flooding regime.
Landform
: Upland flats and landforms with local topographic relief: knolls, ridges, crests, interstream divides, shoulders, slopes, and Bay rims
Soil
Order: Predominantly psamments (sands)
Drainage
: Dry sands, excessively drained to well drained, typic quartzipsamments.
... F153BY010NC – Dry Sands
Drainage
: Moist sands on moderately well drained to somewhat poorly drained soils.
... F153BY020NC – Moist Sands
Soil
Order: Predominantly Ultisols, but includes some alfisols, inceptisols, and mollisols.
Drainage
: Dry, somewhat excessively drained to well drained.
Texture
: Soil Texture Particle Size loamy. Includes fine-silty, fine-loamy, loamy, and coarse-loamy taxonomic textural families.
... F153BY030NC – Dry Loamy Rises and Flats
Landform
: Flats and Depressions: Areas characterized by a continuous surface that is smooth, even, or horizontal, or nearly so, including isolated depressions within the flat landscape matrix
Soil
Order: Predominantly Ultisols, but includes some alfisols, inceptisols, and mollisols.
Drainage
: Moist, moderately well drained to somewhat poorly drained.
Texture
: Soil Texture Particle Size loamy. Includes fine-silty, fine-loamy, loamy, and coarse-loamy taxonomic textural families.
... F153BY040NC – Moist Loamy Rises and Flats
Texture
: Soil Texture Particle Size clay. Includes the fine taxonomic textural family
... F153BY045NC – Moist Clay Rises and Flats
Drainage
: Wet, poorly drained and very poorly drained. Some ponding.
Texture
: Soil Texture Particle Size loamy. Includes fine-silty, fine-loamy, loamy, and coarse-loamy taxonomic textural families.
... F153BY060NC – Wet Loamy Flats and Depressions
Texture
: Soil Texture Particle Size clay. Includes the fine taxonomic textural family
... F153BY065NC – Wet Clay Flats and Depressions
Soil
Order: Spodosols
Drainage
: Moist, moderately well to somewhat poorly drained.
... F153BY050NC – Moist Spodosol Rises and Flats
Drainage
: Wet, poorly drained and very poorly drained. Some ponding.
... F153BY070NC – Wet Spodosol Flats and Depressions
Landscape
: Riparian Zone - Positioned on a riparian landscape, including fluvial terraces and flood plains, connected directly to surface water and flooding.
Soil
Order: Flooded, mineral soils include alfisols, entisols, and inceptisols
... F153BY090NC – Flooded Mineral Soil Flood Plains and Terraces
Landscape
: Coastline - Positioned along a coastline landscape
Landform
: Coastal strand, beach, dune, and dune slack
Drainage
: Non-wet coastal sands, excessively drained to somewhat poorly drained.
... R153BY110NC – Coastal Strand, Beaches, and Dunes
Landform
: Tidal Marsh
Landform
: Subaqueous - *DISCLAIMER* - These sites are under development and will be updated and created following Coastal Zone Soil Survey mapping projects throughout this MLRA
Salinity
: water salinity at these sites is typically greater than 0.5 but less than or equal to 5 parts per thousand
... R153BY220NC – Oligohaline estuarine deep sandy subaqueous habitats
Salinity
: water salinity at these sites is typically greater than 5 but less than or equal to 18 parts per thousand
... R153BY230NC – Mesohaline estuarine subaqueous habitats
Salinity
: Water salinity at these sites is typically greater than 18 parts per thousand
... R153BY240NC – Saline estuarine subaqueous habitats
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
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