Soil Survey of
Nantucket County Massachusetts
The following map unit description is from the
published "Soil Survey of Nantucket County, Massachusetts"
ReA-Riverhead sandy loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes. This nearly level, well drained soil is in irregularly shaped, convex areas on broad outwash plains. The areas range from 5 to 250 acres.
Typically, the surface layer is dark reddish brown sandy loam about 4 inches thick. The subsoil is 26 inches thick. The upper 15 inches of the subsoil is dark reddish brown, very friable sandy loam; the lower 11 inches is dark brown, friable gravelly sandy loam. The substratum is light yellowish brown, stratified sand and gravel to a depth of 60 inches or more.
Included with this soil in mapping are small areas of Katama, Evesboro, Klej, and Tisbury soils that make up about 15 percent of the unit.
The permeability of this soil is moderately rapid in the surface layer and subsoil and very rapid in the substratum. Available water capacity is moderate.
Most areas of this soil are in idle farmland or native grasses. A few areas are covered with woody vegetation, and some areas are farmed. This soil is suitable for openland wildlife habitat, woodland wildlife habitat, and most other nonfarm uses.
The soil is suited to crops, hay, and pasture. Drought in summer is the main limitation for these uses. Irrigation helps overcome the drought limitation.
This Riverhead soil has essentially no limitations for use as a building site; however, sides of excavations in this soil are unstable and the steeper sides generally collapse. A moderate frost action potential limits use of the soil for roads and streets. Replacing the upper layer of the soil with suitable base material helps prevent damage caused by frost action. The soil has few limitations for septic tank absorption fields, but seepage of effluent through the substratum causes a hazard of ground-water pollution. Capability subclass IIs.
ReB-Riverhead sandy loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes. This gently sloping, well drained soil is in irregularly shaped, convex areas on broad outwash plains. Slopes are smooth and are mainly 400 to 800 feet long. Areas of the soil range from 5 to 100 acres.
Typically, the surface layer is dark reddish brown sandy loam about 4 inches thick. The subsoil is 26 inches thick. The upper 15 inches of the subsoil is dark reddish brown, very friable sandy loam; the lower 11 inches is dark brown, friable gravelly sandy loam. The substratum is light yellowish brown, stratified sand and gravel to a depth of 60 inches or more.
Included with this soil in mapping are small areas of Katama, Evesboro, and Klej soils. Also included are areas of soils with slopes of more than 8 percent. Included soils make up about 15 percent of this unit.
The permeability of this soil is moderately rapid in the surface layer and subsoil and very rapid in the substratum. Available water capacity is moderate.
Most areas of this soil are in idle farmland or native grasses. A few areas are covered with woody vegetation, and some areas are farmed. The soil is well suited to openland wildlife habitat, woodland wildlife habitat, and most other nonfarm uses.
This soil is suited to crops, hay, and pasture. Drought in summer is the main limitation, and erosion is a hazard for these uses. Irrigation helps overcome the drought limitation. Use of a plant cover, contour farming, and returning crop residue to the soil help prevent erosion.
This Riverhead soil has essentially no limitations for use as a building site; however, sides of excavations in this soil are unstable and the steeper sides generally collapse. A moderate frost action potential limits use of the soil for roads and streets. Replacing the upper layer of the soil with suitable base material helps prevent damage caused by frost action. The soil has few limitations for septic tank absorption fields, but seepage of effluent through the substratum causes a hazard of ground-water pollution.
Capability subclass IIs.
RfB-Riverhead-Nantucket complex, 3 to 8 percent slopes. This unit consists of gently sloping, well drained soils in irregularly shaped areas. Slopes are convex. Areas of this unit range from 5 to 200 acres and are about 40 percent Riverhead soils, 40 percent Nantucket soils, and 20 percent other soils. The Riverhead and Nantucket soils are so intricately mixed that it was not practical to map them separately.
Typically, the Riverhead soils have a surface layer of dark reddish brown sandy loam about 4 inches thick. The subsoil is 26 inches thick. The upper 15 inches of the subsoil is dark reddish brown, very friable sandy loam; the lower 11 inches is dark brown, friable gravelly sandy loam. The substratum is light yellowish brown, stratified sand and gravel to a depth of 60 inches or more.
Typically, the Nantucket soils have a surface layer of very dark grayish brown sandy loam about 6 inches thick. The subsoil is 23 inches thick. The upper 4 inches of the subsoil is brown, friable sandy loam; the middle 13 inches is yellowish brown, friable or firm sandy loam; and the lower 6 inches is light olive brown, firm loam. The substratum is light olive brown sandy clay loam to a depth of 60 inches or more.
Included with these soils in mapping are areas of Evesboro soils, areas of soils with slopes of more than 8 percent, and a few areas of soils with mottles in the lower part of the subsoil.
The permeability of the Riverhead soils is moderately rapid in the surface layer and subsoil and very rapid in the substratum. The permeability of the Nantucket soils is moderate or moderately rapid in the surface layer and subsoil and moderately slow in the substratum. Available water capacity of these soils is moderate. Root development in the Nantucket soils is restricted to a depth of about 29 inches.
Most areas of the soils in this complex are covered with woody vegetation. Some areas are used for crops, hay, and pasture. The soils are well suited to farming, openland wildlife habitat, and woodland wildlife habitat. The soils are suitable for most other nonfarm uses.
Drought in summer is the main limitation, and erosion is a hazard for the use of the soils in this complex. Irrigation helps overcome the drought limitation. Maintaining a plant cover, contour farming, and using crop residue help prevent erosion.
The soils in this complex have essentially no limitations for use as building sites; however, the sides of excavations in the Riverhead soils are unstable and the steeper sides commonly collapse. A moderate frost action potential limits use of the soils for roads and streets. Replacing the upper layer of the soils with a suitable base material helps prevent damage caused by frost action. The moderately slow permeability in the substratum of the Nantucket soils is a limitation for septic tank absorption fields; increasing the size of the absorption area helps overcome this limitation. The seepage of effluent through the substratum in the Riverhead soils causes a hazard of ground-water contamination.
Capability subclass IIs.