LOCATION SHEEPSCOT ME+NH VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, isotic, frigid Aquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Sheepscot fine sandy loam, on a 2 percent southeast-facing slope in a wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oa--0 to 2 inches; black (5YR 2/1) sapric material; weak fine granular structure; friable; many very fine to coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
A--2 to 3 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) fine sandy loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many very fine to coarse roots; 5 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
E--3 to 5 inches; gray (5YR 6/1) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; many very fine to coarse roots; 5 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick)
Bhs--5 to 10 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; common very fine to medium, and few coarse roots; 20 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bs1--10 to 14 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) gravelly sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; common very fine, fine, and medium, and few coarse roots; 25 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--14 to 19 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very gravelly loamy sand; single grain; loose; common very fine and fine roots; 35 percent gravel; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 4 to 15 inches.)
BC--19 to 27 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very gravelly sand; single grain; loose; common fine prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions and brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; 35 percent gravel, 15 percent cobbles; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
C--27 to 65 inches; olive (5Y 5/3) extremely gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose; 45 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Knox County, Maine; Town of Washington; 0.8 mile northwest of Maine Route 105 along dirt road, 0.6 mile west of Razorville Corner, and 98 feet east of dirt road in woods; USGS Razorville topographic quadrangle; lat. 44 degrees 17 minutes 08 seconds N. and long. 69 degrees 25 minutes 04 seconds W.,NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 14 to 36 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Rock fragment content averages from 35 to 60 percent in the particle-size control section but individual horizons range from 5 to 50 percent in the surface and subsurface horizons, and in the upper part of the subsoil, and from 35 to 75 percent in the lower part of the subsoil and in the substratum. Rock fragments are mostly gravel, with some cobbles and a few stones. Stones cover up to 3 percent of the surface in some areas. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid in the solum and from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum. The loamy cap ranges from 10 to 17 inches in thickness.
The Oa horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 and chroma of 1 or 2.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 4 and chroma of 1 or 2. The Ap horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 to 4. The E horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 5 to 7 and chroma of 1 or 2. They are very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. They have weak or moderate, very fine to medium granular structure, but may range to weak medium platy in the E horizon. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 and chroma of 2 or 3. The Bh horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 to 4. The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 or 5 and chroma of 4 to 6. The B horizon within a depth of 10 inches from the mineral soil surface ranges from fine sandy loam to coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction and from 10 to 17 inches it ranges from fine sandy loam to coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction. It ranges from loamy sand to coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction below 17 inches. It has weak or moderate, very fine to medium granular structure, or it is single grain. Consistence is very friable or friable in the upper part of the B horizon but some pedons have discontinuous cementation. The lower part of the B horizon ranges from loose to friable.
The BC horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 6 and chroma of 3 to 8. It ranges from loamy sand to coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction. It has weak fine granular structure, or it is single grain. Consistence is loose or very friable.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6 and chroma of 2 to 6. It is loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, sand, or coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction, but some pedons have stratification of these textures or strata of gravel and cobbles with sand in the interstices.
COMPETING SERIES: Waumbek is currently the only other series in the same family. Waumbek soils formed in stony, sandy glacial till. The Duane series is in a related family and has an ortstein.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sheepscot soils are on outwash plains, terraces, and deltas. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. The soils formed in glaciofluvial deposits derived mainly from slate, phyllite, and other dark colored metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, and to a lesser extent from granite, gneiss, schist and other light colored igneous rocks. The climate is humid and cool temperate. The mean annual temperature ranges from 38 to 46 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 34 to 48 inches. The frost-free season ranges from 80 to 160 days. Elevation ranges from 5 to 2000 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Adams, Au Gres, Masardis, Naumburg and Stetson soils. Adams, Masardis, and Stetson soils are in slightly higher positions on the landscape and are better drained. Au Gres and Naumburg soils are more poorly drained and are in lower positions on the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid in the loamy cap and is rapid or very rapid below.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly forested. Common tree species include white and red spruce, eastern white pine, balsam fir, eastern hemlock, American beech, paper birch, sugar maple, yellow birch, and northern white cedar.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont; MLRAs 143 and 144B. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Knox County, Maine 1983.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 3 inches (O and A horizons).
b. Albic horizon - the zone from 3 to 5 inches (E horizon).
c. Spodic horizon - the zone from 5 to 14 inches (Bhs and Bs1 horizons).
Additional Data: Soil Interpretation Record Numbers for the Sheepscot series are: Sheepscot, ME0089; and; Sheepscot, stony, ME0112.