Slopes range from 0 to 40 percent. They formed in gravelly, sandy and clayey fluvial deposits and deltaic deposits. The mean annual temperature is 50 to 58 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 38 to 44 inches. These are the Aura , Chillum , Sassafras and Beltsville soils. All these soils have less than 35 percent gravel in the particle size control section.
Surface runoff is medium.
Permeability is moderately slow to moderate. The available moisture capacity is low. A small part of the acreage is used for cropland. Tobacco and some truck crops are grown. A large part of the acreage is cutover and second-growth forest consisting of oaks, Virginia pine, yellow poplar, dogwood, and sweetgum.