Soil Series Atlas

Sassafras soil series

Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, mesic Typic Hapludults

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft5 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–23 cm · 0–9 inBASubsoil grading from topsoil23–53 cm · 9–21 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up53–81 cm · 21–32 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up81–102 cm · 32–40 inC1Parent material102–132 cm · 40–52 inC2Parent material132–178 cm · 52–70 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–23 cm · 0–9 inBASubsoil grading fromtopsoil23–53 cm · 9–21 inBt1Subsoil · clay build-up53–81 cm · 21–32 inBt2Subsoil · clay build-up81–102 cm · 32–40 inC1Parent material102–132 cm · 40–52 inC2Parent material132–178 cm · 52–70 in
Typical pedon, to scale: 178 cm (70 in), 6 horizons.

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

Nationally Sassafras is a small series: 364,558 acres, 868th of 24,791 by area. In New Jersey only three series cover more ground. It dates from 1900; only two atlas series are older. It was first described in Maryland, which holds 32% of its acres today. It is the state soil of Maryland.

Depth
Very deep
Drainage
Well drained

Compare with another seriesSimilar series in the finder

Where Sassafras is mapped

364,558 acres in 42 soil survey areas, from current SSURGO data.

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew Jersey: 127,627 acresNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvania: 186 acresSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelaware: 28,145 acresDistrict of Columbia: 2,113 acresIowaKentuckyMaryland: 117,443 acresMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginia: 89,044 acresWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Share of all Sassafras acres

  1. New Jersey35%
  2. Maryland32%
  3. Virginia24%
  4. Delaware8%
  5. District of Columbia0.6%
  6. Pennsylvania0.1%

In the field

Drainage

Well drained

Drains fastStays wet

Soil depth

Very deep

ShallowDeep
Parent material
Marine/coastal plain sediments
Landform
Marine terraces, flats
Type location
Maryland

How it is classified

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

Against other Ultisols

Sassafras makes up 0.19% of all mapped Ultisols — the 127th largest of 1,278 series in the order.

Solum thickness (topsoil + subsoil)

102 cm under a median of 142 cm

Its relatives

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

  1. Lily1.3 M
  2. Sassafras365 k
  3. Jefferson310 k
  4. Lonewood216 k
  5. Hambrook131 k
  6. Keener118 k
  7. Marr97 k
  8. Riney69 k
  9. Beersheba57 k

Close relatives, at one scale

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

Horizon by horizon

HorizonLayerDepthThickness
ApTopsoil: plowed0–23 cm0–9 in23 cm
BASubsoil grading from topsoil23–53 cm9–21 in30 cm
Bt1Subsoil: clay build-up53–81 cm21–32 in28 cm
Bt2Subsoil: clay build-up81–102 cm32–40 in21 cm
C1Parent material102–132 cm40–52 in30 cm
C2Parent material132–178 cm52–70 in46 cm

Sources: USDA–NRCS Official Series Description (revised 2013-05), Soil Classification database and SSURGO. Ranks computed by Soil Series Atlas. Method · Guides