LOCATION BROCKATONORTON MD+DEEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, mesic Aquic Udipsamments
TYPICAL PEDON: Brockatonorton sand on an undulating 1 percent slope in a back dune area of a barrier island. (colors are for moist soil)
A--0 to 8 cm (0 to 3 inches); light gray (2.5Y 7/2) sand; single grain; loose; very strongly acid; non-saline; clear wavy boundary. (2.5 to 15 cm thick)
C--8 to 61 cm (3 to 24 inches); pale yellow (5Y 7/3) sand; single grain; loose; common 1 to 2 mm (1/32 to 1/16 inch) layers of black (N 2/) sand; very strongly acid; non-saline; abrupt wavy boundary. (48 to 76 cm thick)
Cg--61 to 127 cm (24 to 50 inches); gray (5Y 6/1) sand; single grain; loose; very strongly acid; non-saline; clear, wavy boundary. (30 to 61 cm thick).
Oe--127 to 152 cm (50 to 60 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) mucky peat; hemic soil material; fiber content is one-fourth by volume after rubbing; 10 percent soft wood fragments; common medium gray (5Y 5/1) sand lenses evidencing iron depletion; neutral; very slightly saline; abrupt, smooth boundary. (5 to 41 cm thick)
C'g--152 to 183 cm (60 to 72 inches); gray (5Y 5/1) sand; single grain; loose; few very fine and fine dead roots; neutral; very slightly saline.
TYPE LOCATION: Worcester County, Maryland; approximately 2 miles south of the Assateague Island entrance on the park road, 50 feet east of the road in a vegetated back dune area. USGS Tingles Island, MD topographic quadrangle; lat 38 degrees, 13 minutes, 0 seconds N and long. 75 degrees, 9 minutes, 0 seconds W.; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 50 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches); throughout the year. The water table may be tidally influenced.
Rock Fragment content: 0 to 5 percent fine gravel, by volume, in the C horizon
Soil Reaction: Moderately acid to mildly alkaline
Salinity: Non-saline to moderately saline throughout
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 5 through 8, and chroma of 2 through 4.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sand, coarse sand, or fine sand
C horizon:
Color--hue of 5Y or 2.5Y, value of 5 through 8, and chroma of 3 through 6.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sand, coarse sand, or fine sand
Redoximorphic features--iron depletions in shades of gray frequently occur
O horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR through 5YR, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 0 through 2.
Composition--mucky peat with or without thin layers of muck.
Other features--soft wood fragments range from 5 to 50 percent by volume.
Cg horizon:
Color--hue of 5Y or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 or 2.
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--sand or loamy sand.
COMPETING SERIES:
These are the
Algansee,
Altmar,
Birchwood,
Brems,
Deerfield,
Elnora,
Fortress,
Meckling,
Morocco,
Ottokee,
Partridge,
Tedrow, and
Zaborosky soils. All of these soils lack a buried organic horizon and are not saline in any part.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal plain; barrier islands
Landform: Back dune
Parent Material: Sandy eolian and marine sediments
Slope: 0 to 5 percent; gently sloping to undulating
Elevation: Generally less than 6 meters (20 feet) above mean sea level
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 11 to 14 degrees C. (52 to 58 degrees F.).
Mean Annual Precipitation: 965 to 1219 mm (38 to 48 inches).
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Broadkill soils--found within tidal marshes; flooded daily by tidal action
Hooksan soils--excessively drained; found on higher elevations on the dunes
Matunuck soils--found within tidal marshes; flooded daily by tidal action
Pawcatuck soils--consist of organic materials to a depth of at least 40 cm (16 inches); flooded daily by tidal action
Transquaking soils--consist of organic materials to a depth of at least 132 cm (52 inches) flooded daily by tidal action
Westbrook soils--consist of organic materials to a depth of at least 40 cm (16 inches); flooded daily by tidal action
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class (Agricultural): Moderately well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Moderately deep and permanent (present continuously)
Flooding Frequency and Duration: Occasional flooding of very brief duration
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff: Negligible or very low
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: High or very high
Permeability (obsolete): Rapid
Shrink-swell Potential: Low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Most areas are in natural vegetation and used for wildlife habitat. A few areas are cleared and used for recreation purposes such as camp sites.
Dominant Native Vegetation: Includes sea rocket, seaside goldenrod, bayberry, salt myrtle, and shore juniper. Small areas of pine trees occur in some areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: The mid-Atlantic shoreline and coastal barrier islands of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey.
Extent: The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Worchester County, Maryland, 1995.
REMARKS: Brockatonorton soils were formerly mapped as Coastal Beaches miscellaneous area.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon--the zone from 0 to 8 cm.
b. Buried organic horizon--the zone from 127 to 152 cm.
c. Reduced horizons--the zone from 61 to 183 cm.
d. Mixed mineralogy-X-ray diffraction analyses indicates greater than 10 percent weatherable minerals such as amphiboles, pyroxenes, and feldspars. Sample number S92MD047-012/3.
Other soil features identified with this pedon:
Series Control Section--the zone from 0 to 150 cm.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Reference particle-size data is available from the project soil survey staff
Data Mapunit ID (type location): 95409