PLYMOUTH COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS SOIL SURVEY UPDATE

Rainbow Soils: Very deep, moderately well drained soil formed in silty eolian material underlain by compact (basal) glacial till. Rainbow soils are on the smooth toeslopes and summits of uplands.

Link to Official Series Description
Rainbow Pedon Description 2333602

Map Unit (s): 335A, 335B, 335C, 336A, 336B, 336C
Map Phases:

  • 335A Rainbow silt loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes.
    335B Rainbow silt loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes.
    335C Rainbow silt loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes.
    336A Rainbow silt loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes, very stony.
    336B Rainbow silt loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, very stony.
    336C Rainbow silt loam, 8 to 15 percent slopes, very stony.
    •

    Taxonomic Classification: Coarse - loamy, mixed, mesic, Aquic Dystrochrepts.
    Drainage Class: Moderately well drained.
    Parent Material: Eolian silt and very fine sand underlain by dense glacial till.
    Permeability: Moderate in the solum, slow or very slow in the dense substratum.
    Available Water Holding Capacity: Moderate.
    Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately acid throughout.
    Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 65 inches.
    Seasonal High Watertable: Depth: 1.5 to 3 feet.
    Type: Perched
    Months: November to May.
    Hydrologic Group: C.
    Hydric Soil: No (may have hydric inclusions).
    Flooding/Ponding Potential: Frequency and Type: None.
    Potential Inclusions: Scituate, Woodbridge, and Newfields soils are similar inclusions. Well drained Broadbrook, Paxton, , and Montauk soils are on convex slopes. Poorly drained Norwell, Sippican, and Ridgebury soils are on lower elevations and along drainageways.

    Soil Suitability:

    Agriculture: Map unit 335B is a prime farmland soil. Map units 335C, 336C and 336B are important farmland soils. Map units 335C and 336C are highly erodible map units

    Woodland: Well suited for woodland.

    Development: Major limitations related to slow permeability in the dense till substratum and seasonal high watertables. Large surface and subsurface stones and boulders may interfere with excavation. Erosion hazards are likely during development, measures should be taken to prevent erosion.

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