LOCATION MADAWASKA ME+NH VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, isotic, frigid Aquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Madawaska fine sandy loam, in a wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many very fine and fine and common medium and coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
(5 to 10 inches thick.)
Bs1--8 to 12 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; common very fine and fine and few medium and coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
Bs2--12 to 16 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular; friable; few very fine, fine and medium roots; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs3--16 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; common medium distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and common medium prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary.
(Combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 7 to 20 inches.)
2C--24 to 65 inches; light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) fine sand; single grain; loose; common fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Maine; Town of Farmington; 0.5 mile west of North Chesterville village on Maine Route 156, 500 feet north of road. USGS Farmington Falls topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 35 minutes 40 seconds N. and long. 70 degrees 07 minutes 22 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 18 to 32 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Gravel content ranges from 0 to 10 percent by volume throughout the soil. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid in all horizons.
The Ap horizon, or A horizon where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam. It has weak or moderate, very fine to medium granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The E horizon, where present, is neutral or has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is up to 4 inches thick. Texture is fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam. It has weak thin platy or weak very fine or fine granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have a Bh horizon with hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, with value and chroma of 2 to 4, or a Bhs horizon with chroma and value of 3 or less. The Bh and/or Bhs is up to 10 inches thick. The B horizons are fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam. They have weak or moderate, very fine to medium granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. It is up to 12 inches thick. Texture is fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam but may contain thin layers of sandy loam. It has weak granular or play structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The 2C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, fine sand or sand, but in some pedons thin bands of coarse sand less than 5 inches thick are present.
COMPETING SERIES: Machias is currently the only other series in this family. Machias soils have more than 10 percent gravel in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Madawaska soils are on outwash plains and stream terraces. Slope is dominantly 0 to 8 percent, but ranges up to 15 percent near the contact zone with upland till ridges. The soils formed in materials derived mainly from slate, schist, gneiss, phyllite, granite, and quartzite. The climate is humid and cool temperate. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 34 to 48 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 38 to 46 degrees F. The frost-free season ranges from 80 to 160 days. Elevation ranges from 20 to 2000 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Adams, Allagash, Croghan and Naumburg series. The well drained Allagash soils and the somewhat excessively drained and excessively drained Adams soils are in higher positions on the landscape. The coarser textured Croghan soils are in similar positions on the landscape. The somewhat poorly drained and poorly drained Naumburg soils are in lower positions on the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained and somewhat poorly drained. Permeability is moderate in the solum and rapid in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Many areas are used for hay, pasture, and cultivated crops. Common crops are silage corn, potatoes, and small fruits. Remaining areas are wooded. Common tree species are eastern white pine, white spruce, sugar maple, balsam fir, paper birch, and red spruce.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maine and New Hampshire. (MLRA's 143 and 146). The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Aroostook County, Maine, 1942.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 8 inches. (Ap horizon).
b. Spodic horizon - the zone from 8 to 12 inches (Bs1 horizon).
c. Aquic conditions - redoximorphic features in all horizons below 16 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: The Soil Interpretation Record Number for the Madawaska series is: ME0018.