Nixon soils have coarse fragments 70 percent of which are cobblestones. Quakertown soils average less than 20 percent in a related family and contain less than 18 percent clay in the 10 to 40 inch control section. These soils are on sloping to steep hills and ridges. The regolith is from metaquartzite, quartzite, quartz schist a and congolmerate. Stones are common surface features.
Climate is continental with warm summers and cold winters.
Average annual air temperature is 47 to 59 degrees F. Rainfall averages 35 to 48 inches and is evenly distributed throughout the year. These are the Brandywine , Catoctin , Dekalb , Hazleton , Highfield , Manor and the competing Chester and Glenelg series. Brandywine, Catoctin and Dekalb lack argillic horizons and have more than 35 percent coarse fragments in the control section. Chester, Glenelg and Highfield soils have Bt horizons containing more than 40 percent silt. Hazleton and Manor soils lack an argillic horizon and have less than 18 percent clay in the control section.