they may contain a compact fragipan that is slowly permeable. Soils of the 

 outwash terraces and alluvial plains have variable drainage, but are mostly 

 sandy and highly permeable. Very poorly drained organic soils occur in 

 scattered depressions in the uplands, terraces and alluvial plains. Tidal 

 marshes consist of wet organic soils along the coastline in estuaries and in 

 tidal embayments. 



Subregions 7, 8 and 9 . These three subregions are entirely 

 within Suffolk County. They are all in the Coastal Plain physiographic 

 province. The subregions drain into the Sound and foirm a relatively narrow 

 strip along northern Long Island. Fishers Island and Plum Island constitute 

 a part of sub region 9. 



Subregions 7, 8 and 9 consist mostly of soils on outwash terraces 

 and terminal moraines. Tidal marsh deposits as well as beaches and dune land 

 are also significant. The mineral soils have developed mostly in materials 

 derived from granite, quartz and gneiss brought in by the glacier from the 

 north. The tidal marsh soils have developed in materials derived mostly 

 from reeds, sedges and grasses. 



Soil patterns in these three subregions are complex with regard 

 to slope, texture, permeability, and wetness. The soils commonly exhibit 

 highly contrasting features within short distances. The soils on moraines 

 are friable or loose or they may contain a compact fragipan that is slowly 

 permeable. They range from excessively drained to very poorly drained and 

 from loamy to sandy. Soils of the outwash terraces have variable drainage, 

 but are mostly sandy and highly permeable. The wet organic tidal marsh soils 

 are most common near the coastline in tidal embayments. 



4.0 HOW CAN ONE OBTAIN MORE DETAILED INFORMATION? 



4. 1 Soil maps 



General soil maps, scale 1:24,000, are available for Connecticut 

 towns in the LIS region. They were originally prepared by the Soil Conserva- 

 tion Service in the sixties. Detailed soil maps, scale 1:15,840, are 

 available for all of the New York portion of the LIS region and for several 

 towns in the Connecticut portion (2^). See Figure 1. 



The LISS General Soil Map (3) is on the scale of 1:62,500. It is 

 based on detailed soil survey maps where available and upon town general soil 

 maps elsewhere. Figure 2 is a sample of the map. 



The detailed soil survey maps and town general soil maps, the LISS 

 General Soil Map -- and the other material to be discussed later -- are avail- 

 able to participants in the Long Island Sound Study. Soils information is also 

 available to the interested public, along with interpretative assistance, at 

 the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service Field Offices 

 listed in Table 2. 



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