The Mertz series consists of deep and very deep, well drained soils formed in colluvial or glacial material derived from limestone containing various amounts of chert fragments. Slopes range from 3 to 35 percent.
Permeability is moderately slow.
Mean annual precipitation is 42 inches. Pa. Highway 35 that is 1.5 miles west of the Village of Richfield and 200 years east of a church. Solum thickness ranges from 40 to 80 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 42 inches and dominantly exceeds 72 inches. Rock fragments are primarily chert but some are angular sandstone and shale, particularly in the lower horizons.