PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS SOIL SURVEY UPDATE

Canton Soils: This very deep, nearly level, well drained soil formed in a loamy mantle underlain by sandy, loose-to-firm ablation till. Canton soils are on slopes of uplands, ground moraines, ice contact deposits, and adjacent to plains and stream terraces.

Link to Official Series Description
Canton Profile Description 2342401 | 2342102

Map Unit (s): 420A, 420B, 420C, 421B, 421C, 424B, 424C
Map Phases:

  • 420A Canton fine sandy loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes
    420B Canton fine sandy loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes.
    420C Canton fine sandy loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes.
    421B Canton fine sandy loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, very stony.
    421C Canton fine sandy loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes, very stony.
    424B Canton fine sandy loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, extremely bouldery.
    424C Canton fine sandy loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes, extremely bouldery
    •

    Taxonomic Classification: Coarse - loamy over sandy or sandy skeletal, mixed, mesic, Typic Dystrochrepts.
    Drainage Class: Well drained.
    Parent Material: Ablation till and ice-contact deposits.
    Permeability: Moderately rapid in the solum, moderately rapid to moderately slow in the substratum.
    Available Water Holding Capacity: Moderate.
    Soil Reaction: Very strongly to moderately acid throughout. .
    Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 65 inches.
    Seasonal High Watertable: Depth: greater than 5 feet below the surface.
    Hydrologic Group: B.
    Hydric Soil: No.
    Flooding/Ponding Potential: Frequency and Type: None.
    Potential Inclusions: Well drained Barnstable and Montauk soils are similar inclusions. . Moderately well drained Newfields, Scituate, and Birchwood soils are on lower elevations and concave slopes. Poorly drained Norwell, Mattapoisett, and Ridgebury soils are in depressions and along drainageways. Canton soils are mapped on ice contact landforms which often consists of very variable glacial deposits.

    Soil Suitability:

    Agriculture: Map unit 420A and 420B are prime farmland soil. Map units 420C, 421C and 421B are important farmland soils.

    Woodland: Well suited for woodland.

    Development: There are no major limitations associated with Canton soils. Large surface and subsurface stones and boulders may hinder excavation. Erosion may be a problem during disturbance. Canton soils are mapped in ice contact areas which generally consists of variable deposits. These areas may have a slowly permeable layer that may result in slow percolation rates for on-site sewage disposal systems.

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