Soil Report - Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada

The Wentworth till occurs on two quite different landforms
in the region . It outcrops on the drumlins centred between
Caledonia and Cayuga (Figure 6) . The Seneca soils developed
on this drumlinized loam till are surrounded and often partly
covered by glacial Lake Warren clays . This landscape
relationship is shown schematically in Figure 12 . The other
major location of the Wentworth till is in the moraines that
extend from the north through Waterford, Simcoe and
Delhi (Figure 6) . These extensions of the Galt and Paris
moraines have been modified considerably by the action of
waves and currents within glacial lakes . Consequently, the
texture is mainly gravelly sandy loam, often overlain by sand
deposits . Where sand deposits are absent to thin, the
Wilsonville soils have been mapped, but wherever sand
thickness ranges from 40 to 100 cm over till, the Scotland .
Oakland and Vanessa soils are mapped . Gravel is being
mined from these deposits, mostly in the Waterford and
Simcoe areas (Figure 13) . Figure 14 depicts a schematic
cross-section of the Galt moraine that indicates the relationship
of the gravelly till to overlying sands .
The youngest till in the region, the Halton till, is limited to
a few small moraines along the Lake Erie shoreline south of
Dunnville . These moraines have also undergone considerable
modification by glacial lake action . The tills are characterized
by reddish hues and variable textures . Clay loam textures
are common on well-drained parts of the moraines, mapped
as Ontario soils, whereas clay textures predominate on the
more poorly drained areas occupied by the Niagara and
Welland soils.
Lacustrine silts and clays deposited in glacial lakes Warren
and Whittlesey occupy most of the extensive clay plain areas
(Figure 6) . The Brant, Tuscola and Colwood soils are
developed on the siltiest portion of these lacustrine sediments,
centred in the Waterford-Simcoe area . Their relationship to
the loamy fine sands of the Norfolk sand plain on the west
side, and to the lacustrine heavy clays on the east side, is
depicted in Figure 15 . Thin deposits of sand often overlie
these silts . Where the thickness of sand over silt is between
40 and 100 cm the Walsher, Vittoria and Silver Hill soils
occur .
Fox soils
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Wilsonville and Scotland soils
The Brantford, Beverly and Toledo soils, developed on
lacustrine silty clay loam and silty clay, are found on
sections of the clay plains not occupied by the silts and
heavy clays . That includes much of the region north and
east of the Grand River, and large portions of the clay plains
lying north and west of Port Dover . Some of these clay
deposits are overlain by sands, especially adjacent to the
sand plains . Where these sands attain thicknesses of 40 to
100 cm, the Bookton, Berrien and Wauseon soils have been
mapped .
Thin, silty deposits, seldom exceeding 40 cm in thickness,
also cover many of these clays . Where these silts are 40 to
100 cm thick over clay the Tavistock and Maplewood soils
are mapped .
Lacustrine heavy clays are common throughout most of
the central portion of the largest clay plain of the region .
The Smithville, Haldimand and Lincoln soils, usually mapped
in this area, contain layers with more than 60%, clay . Thin
deposits of silty clay loam and silty clay, rarely more than 40
cm thick, form a veneer over most heavy clay layers . In a
few places, sands 40 to 100 cm thick overlie these clays . A
Figure 13 . Gravel mining near Waterford, where high water
tables prevent rehabilitation to agriculture
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Figure 14 . Schematic landscape cross-section showing soil parent materials associated with the Galt moraine near
Wilsonville
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