LOCATION HOLYOKE CT+MA NJ NY
Established Series
Rev. MFF-SMF
01/2013
HOLYOKE SERIES
The Holyoke series consists of shallow, well drained and somewhat excessively drained soils formed in a thin mantle of till derived mainly from basalt and red sandstone, conglomerate, and shale. They are nearly level to very steep soils on bedrock controlled ridges and hills. Slope ranges from 0 to 60 percent. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high. Depth to hard bedrock ranges from 25 to 50 cm. Mean annual temperature is about 10 degrees C, and mean annual precipitation is abou0 1092 mm.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Holyoke silt loam - forested, very stony with a 2 inch layer of undecomposed forest litter on the surface at an elevation of about 680 feet. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oe--0 to 1 cm; black (10YR 2/1) moderately decomposed plant material. (0 to 3 cm thick)
A--1 to 8 cm; dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; 10 percent angular gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 10 cm thick)
Bw1--8 to 20 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak coarse granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; 10 percent gravel; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--20 to 46 cm; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) gravelly silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; 15 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizons is 20 to 48 cm.)
2R--46 cm; basalt bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Hartford County, Connecticut; town of West Hartford; 200 feet east of Ely Pond, 200 feet south of Highway 44. USGS Avon topographic quadrangle, latitude 41 degrees 47 minutes 44 seconds N., longitude 72 degrees 47 minutes 55 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum and depth to bedrock range from 25 to 50 cm. Rock fragments range from 5 to 35 percent by volume. Except where the surface is stony, the fragments are mostly subrounded and angular gravel. Unless limed, reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid.
The O horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2, and chroma of 0 to 2. Texture ranges from slightly decomposed plant material to highly decomposed plant material.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 to 4. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. Consistence is friable or very friable.
The Bw horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 6. It is silt loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is commonly weak but the range includes moderate, granular or subangular blocky, or the horizon is massive. Consistence is friable or very friable.
Some pedons have a thin BC or C horizon with properties similar to the B horizon.
COMPETING SERIES:
Elkmound is the only other soil in this family.
Elkmound soils are from outside of LRRs R and S. Elkmound soils are underlain by brown sandstone bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Holyoke soils are nearly level to very steep and are on bedrock controlled hills, modified by glacial action. Slope ranges from 0 to 50 percent. The soils formed in a thin mantle of glacial till over bedrock. Some pedons have been modified by silty windblown deposits. The underlying bedrock is primarily basalt but includes red sandstone, conglomerate, or shale. Rock outcrops range from few to many. Mean annual temperature ranges from 8 to 12 degrees C, mean annual precipitation ranges from 1016 to 1270 mm, and the growing season ranges from 135 to 195 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Boonton,
Branford,
Broadbrook,
Cheshire,
Enfield,
Haledon,
Hartford,
Ludlow,
Manchester,
Menlo,
Narragansett,
Watchaug,
Wethersfield,
Wilbraham, and
Yalesville soils on nearby landscapes. All except Yalesville are very deep to bedrock. Boonton, Broadbrook, Cheshire, Narragansett, and Wethersfield soils are well drained associates. Branford, Enfield, Hartford, and Manchester soils are on outwash terraces and are underlain by stratified sand and gravel. The Haledon soils are somewhat poorly drained and Ludlow and Watchaug soils are moderately well drained. Very poorly drained Menlo soils and poorly drained Wilbraham soils are in drainageways and low-lying areas.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained and somewhat excessively drained. Surface runoff is medium to very rapid. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly forested. Small cleared areas are used for orchards, cultivated crops, hay, or pasture. A few areas are used for community development. Common trees are red, white, black, and chestnut oak, hickory, red maple, red cedar, hemlock, white pine, and gray and black birch.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Glaciated uplands in the Connecticut River Valley of Connecticut and Massachusetts, northeastern New Jersey, and southeastern New York; MLRA's 144A and 145. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Connecticut Valley Area, Connecticut, 1899.
REMARKS: Cation exchange activity class determined from a review of available data.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 8 cm (Oe and A horizons).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 8 to 46 cm (Bw horizons).
3. Lithic contact - hard bedrock at 46 cm.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.