These soils formed in colluvium from sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Slopes range from 2 to 70 percent. Climate is temperate and humid, mean annual temperature ranges from 50 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation from 42 to 52 inches. These are the competing Tate series and Barbourville , Bland , Calvin , Litz , and Sensabaugh series. Barbourville and Sensabaugh soils are in narrow strips along drainageways and do not have an argillic horizon.
Bland soils are on adjacent uplands and are clayey and moderately deep to rock.
Calvin and Litz soils are on higher lying uplands and have a loamy-skeletal control section. Most cleared areas are used for growing pasture, hay, tobacco, and vegetables. The steeper areas are used mostly as forest. The native vegetation was mixed hardwoods. The northern part of the Great Appalachian Valley in east Tennessee and in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.