Mountain fens are uncommon and unique wetlands in the southern Appalachian Highlands. We selected four mountain fens in North Carolina to compare soil particle-size distribution, organic carbon, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable Mg ², Ca ², and K . Three of the sites are depressional areas on alluvial floodplains at elevations between 700 and 1130 m above sea level, while the fourth site is located on a slope intersecting ground-water seepage at an elevation of 950 m. Peat accumulation amounted to a shallow surface Sphagnum layer (usually <5 cm) at three sites, and the organic carbon content of the surface soil horizon ranged from 4 to 21%. Three of the soils would be classified as Cumulic Humaquepts, and the other is a Terric Haplohemist. The pH of the surface horizon of the four soils ranged from 4.3 to 4.9. The alluvial fens had higher silt concentrations than the seepage fen, and two of the alluvial fens had a subsurface, fine-textured deposit. The seepage fen showed little textural variation with depth. Exchangeable Ca ² concentrations were higher for the seepage fen. The CEC ranged from 15 to 62 cmol_c kg⁻¹ in the surface horizon, and base saturation (Ca ², Mg ², and K ) was <12% for the three alluvial fens and 20% for the seepage fen. Base saturation increased to 40% in the lower horizons of the seepage fen but remained <10% for the alluvial fens. The differences in soil characteristics suggest that geomorphic location should be considered when comparing mountain fens.