State Soil of Massachusetts By USDA - NRCA Apr 20, 2008, 23:00 PST

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The State Soil of Massachusetts

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Paxton Soil Profile

• Surface layer: very dark grayish brown fine sandy loam
• Subsoil: yellowish brown fine sandy loam
• Substratum: olive gravelly fine sandy loam (dense till)

The Paxton series consists of very deep, well drained soils on glacial till uplands. These soils formed in friable glacial till overlying firm, dense till. The dense till is the outstanding characteristic of the Paxton series. Permeability is moderate in the surface layer and subsoil and slow or very slow in the substratum. Available water capacity is high. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid. A seasonal high water table is perched at a depth of 1.5 to 2.5 feet.

Where stones have been cleared and slopes are gentle, Paxton soils are well suited to cultivated crops, hay, and improved pasture. Some areas are used for residential development. Most areas where stones have not been cleared and slopes are steeper are wooded. Paxton soils occur on about 400,000 acres of the 5.3 million acres in the state.

In 1991, the State Legislature designated the Paxton series as the Massachusetts State Soil.

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