LOCATION NORWELL MAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy, mixed, mesic, shallow Aeric Epiaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Norwell gravelly sandy loam - cultivated. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) gravelly sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; many fine roots; 15 percent gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (7 to 10 inches thick)
Bg1--8 to 10 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand; single grain; very friable; common roots; 15 percent gravel; few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bg2--10 to 17 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) loamy sand; single grain; very friable; common to few roots; 10 percent gravel and 1 percent stones; many medium prominent reddish brown (5YR 4/4) and yellowish red (5YR 5/6) redoximorphic concentrations; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Eg--17 to 20 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) loamy coarse sand; massive, tends toward platiness; friable; few roots; 10 percent gravel and 1 percent stones; many coarse prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) redoximorphic concentrations; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Cd1--20 to 32 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand; light gray (N 7/0) faces of prisms; weak thick platy structure within very coarse prisms, firm, brittle; 15 percent gravel and 1 percent stones; many coarse prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/6) redoximorphic concentrations; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
2Cd2--32 to 60 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) gravelly sandy loam; light gray (N 7/0) faces of prisms; weak coarse subangular blocky structure within very coarse prisms, firm, brittle; 15 percent gravel and 1 percent stones; many fine and medium prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/8) mottles, very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Plymouth County, Massachusetts; Town of East Bridgewater, about 1 1/2 miles east northeast of the village of East Bridgewater. Latitude 42 degrees 2 minutes 18 seconds N. and longitude 70 degrees 55 minutes 53 seconds W.; USGS 7 1/2 minute Whitman quadrangle; NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to dense glacial till ranges from about 15 to 24 inches. Gravel content ranges from 5 to 25 percent and cobbles, range from 5 to 10 percent throughout the soil. Stones range from 0 to 20 percent by volume in the surface, and from 0 to 10 percent in the B and C horizons. The soil ranges from extremely acid through moderately acid.
The Ap horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3, and chroma of 0 through 2. Fine-earth texture is sandy loam or loamy sand. A horizons are 1 to 6 inches thick and have hue of 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2.
The Bg and Eg horizons have hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. At least one horizon in the 10 to 20 inch zone has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2. Redoximorphic features are generally few in the Bg1 horizon, but are common or many in the Bg2 and Eg horizons. Fine-earth texture is loamy sand, sand, loamy coarse sand, or coarse sand.
The Cd horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. The 2Cd horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. C horizons are massive, or have platy or blocky structure, often within very coarse prisms. Fine-earth texture ranges from loamy sand to coarse sand in the upper part and is sandy loam within a depth of 40 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other known series in the same family.
The Brockton, Cabot, Leicester, Ridgebury, Stissing, and Wareham series are in related families. Brockton soils have an umbric epipedon. Cabot, Ridgebury, and Stissing soils do not have loamy sand or sandy B horizons. Leicester and Wareham soils have friable to loose substrata.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Norwell soils are nearly level and gently sloping on slightly concave lower slopes and in shallow drainageways in the uplands. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent. The soils formed in acid, sandy glacial till of Wisconsin Age derived from granite and gneiss. Most areas have very stony or extremely stony surfaces. The climate is humid temperate; mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees F; and mean annual precipitation is 42 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The Deerfield, Hinckley, Merrimac, Sudbury, and Windsor soils have loose gravelly or sandy substrata, and are on nearby glacial outwash plains. The somewhat excessively drained Gloucester, well drained Essex, moderately well drained Scituate, and very poorly drained Brockton soils are in a drainage sequence with Norwell.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Runoff is slow. Permeability is rapid or moderately rapid in the solum and slow in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly forested or idle. Cleared and drained areas are used for hay or pasture. Common forest trees are red maple, tamarack, elm, hemlock, white pine, and aspen. Alder, sedge, hardhack, and dogwood are common in idle areas.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRAs 144A and 149B in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. The soil is of small extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1965.
REMARKS: This soil was previously classified as Typic Fragiaquepts and more recently, Aeric Haplaquents.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of about 8 inches (Ap horizon).
2. Sandy particle size feature - the particle size control section is dominantly sandy but has less than 50 percent very fine sand and less than 35 percent rock fragments.
3. Shallow soil depth class - less than 50 cm. deep from the mineral soil surface to a root limiting layer (Cd horizon at 20 inches but with lower limit of 15 in range).