484 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



DESCRIPTION OF AREA 



Special Bulletin No. 104 



AHEA SURVEYHD 



BY M. M. MCCOOL AND G. M. GRANTHAM — SOILS SECTION 



A reconnaissance or general soil survey was made of the Detroit area 

 including Monroe and parts of Wayne, Washtenaw and Lenawee counties. 

 All of Wayne was surveyed with the exception of the northwest two-thirds 

 of Northville and Plymouth townships. In Washtenaw parts of Saline, 

 York, Augusta, Ypsilanti and Superior townships are included. About half 

 of Lenawee county has been surveyed including all of Fairfield, Ogden, 

 Riga, Deerfield, Blissfield, and Ridgeway townships and the southeast part 

 of Seneca, Madison, Palmyra, Raisen and Marion townships. The entire 

 district is comprised of about 1,543 square miles of 987-520 acres. The area 

 is situated on the west side of Lake Erie, the Detroit River and part of 

 Lake St. Clair. It is bounded on the north by Macomb and Oakland 

 counties and on the south by the State of Ohio. It is in about the same 

 latitude as Boston, Massachusetts, and in about the same longitude as 

 Columbus, Ohio. 



Fig. 1. — There are several sand ridges in the area which are sa.id to have been former lake shore 

 lines. These vary in height, the soils are quite light in texture, low in nitrogen, humus, lime and 

 phosphorus. 



The Detroit area includes a small part of the old lake basin which covers 

 an extensive area in eastern Michigan and northern Ohio. The outlet to 

 this old glacial lake has been lowered until, at the present time, large areas 

 of former lake bottom are very productive lands. 



