Howard and Palmyra soils formed in glacial outwash deposits on nearby terraces. The potential for surface runoff is high or very high. Permeability is moderate in the surface and surface layers and moderately slow in the subsoil and substratum. Most areas have been cleared, and are used for growing corn, small grain, hay, and pasture. Vegetable crops and orchards are also important.
Native vegetation is sugar maple, beech, oaks, hickories, black cherry, white ash, and white pine.
The Erie and Ontario lake plains of New York, and to a minor extent, the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys and broad valleys of the Allegheny Plateau of New York. The series is of moderate extent.