Soil Survey of Bristol County, Massachusetts
SOUTHERN PART
The following Map Unit Description is from the 1981 Soil Survey of Bristol County, Southern Part. Please note: map unit symbols are DIFFERENT for Bristol South and Bristol North reports, do NOT use these descriptions for Bristol North.
Ipswich
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Pa-Pawcatuck and Ipswich peats.
These soils are deep and very poorly drained. They are in coastal tidal marshes that are subject to daily tidal flooding (fig. 6). Areas are irregular in shape and range from about 5 to 200 acres. Most are more than 1 00 acres. The areas of this unit consist of Pawcatuck soils or Ipswich soils or both. The soils were mapped together because there are no major differences in their use and management.
The acreage of this unit is about 50 percent Pawcatuck soils, 35 percent Ipswich soils, and 15 percent other soils.
Typically, the upper 31 inches of the Pawcatuck soils is grayish brown peat and mucky peat. The substratum is gray sand to a depth of 60 inches or more.
Typically, the upper 22 inches of the Ipswich soils is dark grayish brown peat and mucky peat. The next 4 inches is very dark grayish brown muck. The lower layer, to a depth of 60 inches or more, is dark olive gray mucky peat.
Included with these soils in mapping are areas where the depth to mineral material is less than 16 inches; a few areas where stones cover about 3 percent of the surface; and areas where the material underlying the Pawcatuck soils is very fine sandy loam, loamy very fine sand, or silt loam. Included areas make up about 15 percent of the unit.
The permeability of these Pawcatuck soils is moderate to rapid in the organic material and very rapid in the substratum. The permeability of the Ipswich soils is moderate to rapid. Available water capacity is high in both soils.
The daily tidal flooding makes these soils poorly suited to most uses other than wetland wildlife habitat.
Capability subclass: VIIIw.
More Info on Pawcatuck and Ipswich soils
