LOCATION GALWAY NY NJ VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Eutrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Galway loam, in an abandoned pasture on a 5 percent southeast-facing slope (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap-- 0 to 5 inches, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine, and common medium and coarse roots; 5 percent rock fragments; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 11 inches thick.)
Bw1-- 5 to 9 inches, dark brown (10YR 3/3) fine sandy loam; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable; common fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common fine tubular pores; 7 percent rock fragments; neutral; gradual smooth boundary.
Bw2-- 9 to 18 inches, brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common fine tubular and few fine vesicular pores; 7 percent rock fragments; neutral; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw ranges from 6 to 27 inches.)
C-- 18 to 35 inches, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) gravelly fine sandy loam; common medium prominent white (10YR 8/1) soft masses of secondary calcium carbonate accumulation; massive with moderate thin and medium plate-like divisions; firm; few fine tubular pores; 25 percent rock fragments; moderately alkaline, violent effervescence; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 17 inches thick.)
2R-- 35 inches, nearly horizontally bedded limestone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Essex County, New York, Town of Essex, in the hamlet of Essex, 2200 feet south of the junction of NY State Route 22 and County Route 9J, 300 feet northeast of County Route 9J. USGS Willsboro, NY topographic quadrangle; Latitude 44 degrees, 18 minutes, 16 seconds N. and Longitude 73 degrees, 20 seconds, 58 minutes W., NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum ranges from 18 to 30 inches and depth to carbonates ranges from 14 to 40 inches. Depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments, by volume, range from 0 to 35 percent in the A horizon, 3 to 35 percent in the B horizon, and 5 to 70 percent in the C horizon. The soil is moderately acid to neutral in the A horizon, moderately acid to slightly alkaline in the B horizon, and slightly or moderately alkaline in the C horizon.
The Ap or A horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 or 3. It is silt loam or loam in the fine earth fraction. The structure is fine to coarse granular or fine or medium subangular blocky. The consistence is very friable or friable. The A horizon has a thickness of 2 to 5 inches.
The Bw horizon has hue of 5YR through 2.5Y, value of 3 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 6. Faint or distinct mottles or redoximorphic concentrations with chroma higher than 2 occur in the lower part of some pedons. Texture of the fine earth fraction is silt loam, loam, or fine sandy loam. It has weak or moderate, fine through coarse, subangular blocky or granular structure. Consistence ranges from very friable to firm.
BC horizon, if present, is similar to the Bw but differs by having free carbonates and chroma as low as 2.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR through 2.5Y, value of 3 through 6 and chroma of 2 through 4. If chroma is 2, the value is 4 or more. It ranges from silt loam to sandy loam in the fine earth fraction. It is friable or firm. It is calcareous in some part.
The 2R horizon is limestone, dolomitic limestone, or calcareous sandstone bedrock.
COMPETING SERIES: The Nellis, Salter, and Sunburg series are in the same family. Nellis, Salter, and Sunburg soils are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock.
The Amenia, Benson, Farmington, Hogansburg, and Wassaic series are similar soils in related families. Amenia and Hogansburg soils have mottles with chroma of 2 within a depth of 25 inches and are deeper than 40 inches to bedrock. Benson and Farmington soils have bedrock at a depth of 10 to 20 inches. Wassaic soils have an argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Galway soils are on nearly level to steep, smooth to step-like landforms which are mantled with till with or without an admixture of silty eolian deposits. Slope ranges from 0 to 60 percent. The soil has lithic contact, at 20 to 40 inches, of nearly horizontally bedded sedimentary rocks containing lime. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 26 to 45 inches; mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 51 degrees F.; and the mean frost-free season ranges from 120 to 180 days. Elevation ranges from 95 to 1000 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Amenia, Benson, Dover, Farmington, Hogansburg, and Nellis series. The very deep Appleton, Bombay, Conesus, Hilton, Honeoye, Kendaia, Lansing, Lima, Lowville, Lyons, Madrid, Massena, Ontario and Sun soils on nearby till plains; and very deep Howard, Kars, Palmyra and Phelps soils are on adjacent glacial outwash plains and terraces.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well and moderately well drained. The potential for surface runoff is low to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral soil.
USE AND VEGETATION: The more gently sloping areas are mainly cultivated for corn, small grains, and hay, or are pastured or idle. Where these soils are rocky or steep, they are largely in wood lots composed of sugar maple, white ash, basswood, yellow poplar, red and white oak, white pine, and hemlock.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Ontario Lake Plain, northern edge of the Allegheny Plateau; northwestern New Jersey, Black, Mohawk, and Hudson River Valleys of New York; and Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont. MLRA's 101, 142, and 144A. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Jefferson County, New York, 1983.
REMARKS: Typical pedon location changed to Essex County, NY to better reflect a Typic rather than Oxyaquic subgroup condition for this series.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in the typical pedon are:
(1) Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 5 inches (Ap horizon).
(2) Cambic horizon - the zone from 5 to 24 inches (Bw horizons).
(3) Typic subgroup - as evidenced by carbonates within 40 inches (C horizon).
(4) CEC activity - assigned superactive from limited lab data.