Hazleton -- Pennsylvania State Soil

Photograph of hilly and mountainous terrain. Pasture in the foreground and forest on the
steeper slopes in the background. Deciduous trees are starting to turn color.

Photograph of the profile of a typifying pedon of Hazleton soil series

Hazleton Soil Profile

Surface layer: dark brown stony sandy loam
Subsurface layer: dark gray stony sandy loam
Subsoil - upper: dark reddish brown channery sandy loam
Subsoil - lower: yellowish brown channery sandy loam
Substratum: light yellowish brown very stony sandy loam
Bedrock: level-bedded, gray sandstone

Hazleton soils are named for the city of Hazleton in east-central Pennsylvania. They are used for woodland, cropland, hay, and pasture and occur in the areas of Ridge and Valley, Allegheny Mountain, High Plateaus, and Pittsburgh Plateaus. Forests consist of mixed northern hardwoods that include white and red oak, hickory, ash, maple, and black cherry.

Hazleton soils occur in half of the counties in Pennsylvania and make up more than 1.5 million acres in the state. The series was established in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, in 1960 and is also mapped in Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Small scale map of Pennsylvania showing distribution of Hazleton soil series.

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