Soil Series Atlas

Downer soil series

Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults

050100150200cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft5 ft6 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–25 cm · 0–10 inBASubsoil grading from topsoil25–46 cm · 10–18 inBtSubsoil · clay build-up46–76 cm · 18–30 inCParent material76–203 cm · 30–80 in050100150200cmApTopsoil · plowed0–25 cm · 0–10 inBASubsoil grading fromtopsoil25–46 cm · 10–18 inBtSubsoil · clay build-up46–76 cm · 18–30 inCParent material76–203 cm · 30–80 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 203 cm (80 in), 4 horizons.

Ultisols — strongly weathered, leached soils with a clay-enriched subsoil

Nationally Downer is a small series: 363,168 acres, 871st of 24,791 by area. No series covers more of New Jersey: it accounts for 6.4% of the state’s mapped soil. It is the largest of the 7 established series in its family. It is the state soil of New Jersey.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Well drained

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Downer is mapped

363,168 acres in 33 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew Jersey: 254,841 acresNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelaware: 38,061 acresDistrict of Columbia: 6 acresIowaKentuckyMaryland: 70,089 acresMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginia: 172 acresWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Downer acres

  1. New Jersey70%
  2. Maryland19%
  3. Delaware10%
  4. Virginia<0.1%
  5. District of Columbia<0.1%
  • Rank in the state · share of its mapped soil
  • New Jersey 1st of 247 · 6.37%
  • Maryland 19th of 324 · 1.27%
  • Delaware 7th of 115 · 3.86%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep
Parent material
Marine/coastal plain sediments
Landform
Ridges/interfluves, hills
Type location
New Jersey

How it is classified

  1. OrderUltisols
  2. SuborderUdults
  3. Great groupHapludults
  4. SubgroupTypic Hapludults
  5. FamilyCoarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludultscoarse-loamy particle-size classsiliceous mineralogy classsemiactive cation-exchange activity classmesic soil temperature regime

Against other Ultisols

Downer makes up 0.19% of all mapped Ultisols — the 128th largest of 1,278 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

76 cm under a median of 142 cm

Depth described

203 cm over a median of 178 cm

Its relatives

6 other established series share the family “Coarse-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults”

  1. Downer363 k
  2. Ingleside167 k
  3. Nallen40 k
  4. Woodmansie39 k
  5. Phalanx12 k
  6. Swainton3 k
  7. Dennisville2 k

Close relatives, at one scale

  1. Downer203 cm · Typic Hapludults
  2. Greenwich183 cm · Typic Hapludults
  3. Sassafras178 cm · Typic Hapludults
  4. Gilpin79 cm · Typic Hapludults
  5. Smithdale211 cm · Typic Hapludults
  6. Shelocta152 cm · Typic Hapludults

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–25 cm0–10 in25 cm
BASubsoil grading from topsoil25–46 cm10–18 in21 cm
BtSubsoil: clay build-up46–76 cm18–30 in30 cm
CParent material76–203 cm30–80 in127 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2012-01), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides