Hard Pan

[bsaue278]

Hello All!

I'm new to digging and I not sure about identifying hard pan. I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is hard pan or just another layer. The topsoil I'm seeing is a very loose, dark, material. This is where I'm finding flint chips and one preform near the very bottom of the layer.

After about 8-12 inches of the topsoil comes the light brown wet glossy looking soil which is much harder to dig through..it also has many more and sometime large rocks within it.


Can I assume this bottom layer is the hard pan. If so, will there ever be points found in hard pan..or always in the topsoil above?

[kirby]

Hardpan would depend on where you are. For example, in my area the hardpan is an extremely dense red clay below sandy loam soil. Here, we find nothing below this line.

In other areas (of Texas) they might encounter bedrock below a few inches of soil.

Again, it depends on the soil qualities of your specific locale. In your case "harder to dig through" might not be the hardpan at all.

But I do wish you luck!

[bsaue278]

Thanks for the response! I live in eastern Pennsylvania..I'm not too sure on the soil type in my area. I guess I'll try asking some of the veteran diggers in the area.

[joshuaream]

If it was ever a plowed field, hardpan can be a recent man-made phenomena from years of working the field. I'd dig below it and see what you find.

In some of my desert areas (that weren't deserts when paleo folk roamed around) hardpan is a rocky/caliche/gravel layer. Wind erosion will remove the topsoil and sand down to this layer. It's usually sterile below this level in my area.

[kirby]

Originally Posted by bsaue278

Thanks for the response! I live in eastern Pennsylvania..I'm not too sure on the soil type in my area. I guess I'll try asking some of the veteran diggers in the area.

Always a good idea!!