A state soil represents a soil that has aunique importance to the state it occurs in. For example, it may be important in supporting a certain type of land use or cover a large extent of the state as in Pennsylvania’s example. The Hazleton soil was voted to represent Pennsylvania soils by the Pennsylvania Association of Professional Soil Scientists for the National Soil Survey Centennial in 1999. A Governors Proclamation in 1999 for Soil Stewardship Week proclaimed Hazleton as the State Soil.

The Hazleton soil is one of the most extensive soils in Pennsylvania, occurring in 37 Pennsylvania counties and making up more than 1.5 million acres of Pennsylvania. The Hazleton soil Is named for a Pennsylvania location originally identified and mapped in Pennsylvania in 1960 in Carbon County during the highlight of the soil survey mapping in Pennsylvania.

Hazleton soils represent the diversity of Pennsylvania, being used for forestry, agriculture, mining and infrastructure support. The soil has a distinct profile with highly contrasting soil horizons and is formed from the sandstones common throughout Pennsylvania.

Hazleton soils are named for the city of Hazleton in east central Pennsylvania. Hazleton soils are in woodland, cropland, hay and pastureland. Hazleton soils occur in the Ridge and Valley, Allegheny Mountain, High Plateaus, and Pittsburgh Plateaus Physiographic Provinces in Pennsylvania. Forests on Hazleton soils are mixed northern hardwoods that include white and red oak, hickory, ash, maple, and black cherry. Hazleton soils occur in one half of the counties in Pennsylvania and account for more than 1.5 million acres of the soilsin Pennsylvania (5 percent of the state). The Hazleton soil series was established in Carbon County Pennsylvania in 1960 during the height of the soil survey mapping program in Pennsylvania. Hazleton soils are also mapped in Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia. Hazleton soils occur in 33 Pennsylvania counties. 

HAZLETON SOIL PROFILE Hazleton soils are deep and very deep, well drained soils formed in residuum from acid gray and brown sandstone. They are on convex upland plateaus, ridge tops and shoulder slopes.

Soil Classification: Loamy-skeletal, siliceous, active,mesic, Typic Dystrudrepts

Setting: Hazleton soils are on the nearly level to steep convex shoulder slopes, tops and sideslopes of plateaus and ridges of the Allegheny Plateau. They formed in residuum from acid gray and brown interbedded sedimentary sandstone with some siltstone. Average annual precipitation is about 48 inches and average annual air temperature is about 51 degrees F.

 

Physical and Chemical Properties of the Hazleton Soil