Page 33 - Town of Newcomb Comprehensive Plan - 2010

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2.10.2 Soils
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Soils within Newcomb were identified using the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural
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Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Essex County Soil Survey. According to the survey, 84
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percent of Newcomb’s soils are derived from gneiss (a metamorphic rock that can be made
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from both igneous and sedimentary parent materials), with inclusions of glacially derived soils.
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Texturally, 80 percent of all soils are loamy and four percent are sandy. The remaining soils are
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of silty or organic maaterials. Figure 13, Soils (see Appendix I), illustrates Newcomb’s specific soil
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types.
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Depth to bedrock annd to seasonally high water tables varies throughout the Town. However,
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within‐and‐around the Hamlet, Tahawus Road, Blue Ridge Road, and Trout and the Perch Pond
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areas, 78 percent of the total acreage of developable parcels have a depth to water table that
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was three (3) feet or greater. Approximately 99 percent of this same area had a depth to
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bedrock two (2) feet or greater. For more information regarding these and other development
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constraints, please see the Newcomb Buildout Analysis discussion below.
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2.10.3 Land Cover
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Figure 14, Land Cover, was generated using current U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) land cover
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data. The figure illustrates the various land cover types that makeup Newcomb. Over 99
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percent of the Towwn’s land
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Figure 14 – Land Cover
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cover is undevelopped. The
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remaining one (1) percent
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(i.e., “other”), according the
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land cover data, is a mix of
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developed lands, maintained
open spaces (e.g., lawns, golf
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courses, etc.), natural grasses,
and barren lands (i.e.,
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exposed rock and sandy
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2.10.4 Water Resourrces
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Watersheds are geographical areas that share a common drainage point such as a lake, river, or
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even a wetland. Watersheds, by definition, occur at multiple scales ranging from very large land
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areas that drain into hundreds of miles of river, to only a few acres that drain into very small
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streams. From a larger watershed perspective, approximately 83 percent of Newcomb’s land
area drains into the Hudson River, while the very northwest portion of town drains into the
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Raquette River. These watersheds are in‐turn made up of smaller sub‐watersheds. Delineated
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Town of Newcomb Comprehensive Plan
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March 2010
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