Soil Series Atlas

Soils of Massachusetts

196 soil series mapped on 4.34 million acres

050100150cm1 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft5 ftApTopsoil · plowed0–20 cm · 0–8 inBw1Subsoil · color or structure change20–38 cm · 8–15 inBw2Subsoil · color or structure change38–66 cm · 15–26 inCdParent material · dense, roots restricted66–165 cm · 26–65 in050100150cmApTopsoil · plowed0–20 cm · 0–8 inBw1Subsoil · color orstructure change20–38 cm · 8–15 inBw2Subsoil · color orstructure change38–66 cm · 15–26 inCdParent material ·dense, roots restricted66–165 cm · 26–65 in
Paxton, to scale.

Inceptisols — young soils with weakly developed horizons

Massachusetts’s state soil, Paxton, is also its most extensive series, with 324,230 acres (7.5% of the mapped soil). Inceptisols make up over half of the mapped soil (61.0%).

Atlas series mapped in MassachusettsGuide: state soils and where series began

Soil orders in Massachusetts

AlabamaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode Island

Largest series in Massachusetts

  1. PaxtonInceptisols · 324,230 acres7.47%
  2. HinckleyEntisols · 255,383 acres5.89%
  3. WoodbridgeInceptisols · 215,468 acres4.97%
  4. CantonInceptisols · 197,401 acres4.55%
  5. MerrimacInceptisols · 189,800 acres4.37%
  6. CharltonInceptisols · 174,925 acres4.03%
  7. CarverEntisols · 156,305 acres3.60%
  8. FreetownHistosols · 146,564 acres3.38%
  9. WindsorEntisols · 134,008 acres3.09%
  10. RidgeburyInceptisols · 121,921 acres2.81%

Atlas series mapped in Massachusetts

  1. Windsor165 cm · Typic Udipsamments
  2. Paxton165 cm · Oxyaquic Dystrudepts
  3. Marlow165 cm · Oxyaquic Haplorthods
  4. Narragansett152 cm · Typic Dystrudepts
  5. Tunbridge71 cm · Typic Haplorthods