LOCATION BLUEBELL ID

Established Series
Rev. LNL-BDG-EMM
08/2014

BLUEBELL SERIES

The Bluebell series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in residuum and colluvium derived from basalt. Bluebell soils are on mountain slopes and plateaus. Slopes are 5 to 65 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 685 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 5 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive Pachic Argicryolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Bluebell cobbly loam. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted).

Oe--0 to 3 cm; partially decomposed twigs and needles.

A1--3 to 10 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cobbly loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate very fine and fine granular structure; s very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fine and very fine roots; many fine irregular pores; 5 percent gravel and 25 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary.

A2--10 to 28 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) cobbly loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium granular structure; soft, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots and few coarse roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 5 percent gravel and 25 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.7); gradual smooth boundary. (combined thickness of A horizons is 25 to 40 cm thick)

AB--28 to 48 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine and medium granular; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few fine and coarse roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 45 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.3); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 25cm thick)

Bt--48 to 64 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/2) very gravelly clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few medium roots; many fine irregular pores; 45 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and in pores; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 20 cm thick)

R--64cm; basalt with Bt horizon material in cracks.

TYPE LOCATION: About 6 miles southeast of New Meadows; 2,000 feet west and 10 feet north of the southeast corner of sec. 16,T. 18 N., R. 2 E.; Latitude - 44 degrees, 53 minutes, 25.39 seconds North; Longitude - 116 degrees, 12 minutes, 59.99 seconds West; WGS84; UTM Zone 11 - Northing - 4971072.31m, Easting - 561856.38m; USGS Meadows, Idaho Quadrangle.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:

Soil moisture - Usually moist in winter, spring, and early summer; dry later in summer and fall; Xeric moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature - 5 to 6.6 degrees C.
Mean summer soil temperature - 14.4 to 15.6 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness - 50 to 100 cm; includes the Bt horizon
Depth to base of argillic horizon - 50 to 100 cm
Depth to bedrock - 50 to 100 cm to a lithic contact
Particle-size control section - clay content: 25 to 35 percent; Rock fragments: 50 to 80 percent, mainly basalt cobbles and stones.

A horizons
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 3 to 5 dry
Chroma: 1 to 3, dry or moist
Clay content: 15 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 2 to 30 percent gravel, 0 to 25 percent cobbles, 0 to 3 percent stones, 2 to 35 percent total rock fragment content
Reaction: 5.6 to 7.3

AB or BA horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry
Chroma: 2 or 3 dry
Texture: loam or clay loam
Clay content: 18 to 30 percent
Rock fragments: 5 to 45 percent gravel, 5 to 15 percent cobbles, 10 to 60 percent total rock fragment content
Reaction: 6.1 to 6.4

Bt horizon
Hue: 10YR or 7.5YR
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist
Texture: loam or clay loam
Clay content: 25 to 35 percent
Rock fragments: 15 to 45 percent gravel, 10 to 25 percent cobbles, 0 to 20 percent stones, 50 to 80 percent total rock fragment content
Reaction: 5.6 to 6.5

COMPETING SERIES:
Angelwhine - are very deep
Aspetill - are very deep
Badwater - are very deep and contain boulders of quartzitic sandstone
Bickmore - have a horizon with secondary calcium carbonate accumulation
Bigcoulee - are very deep and have a udic moisture regime
Blackbear - have a udic moisture regime
Booneville - are very deep and have a udic moisture regime
Buena Vista - have horizons with secondary calcium carbonate accumulations
Dab - are very deep
Dailybasin - are very deep and have an ustic moisture regime
Delhew - are very deep
Hawkinspeak - have sandy loam textures above the Argillic horizon
Igor - are very deep and have an ustic moisture regime
Keman - are very deep
Littlemud - have mollic epipedons that are 40 to 50cm thick and have a mean summer soil temperature of 11 to 13 degrees C.
Lostcannon are very deep
Monibasin - are very deep and have sandy loam or sandy clay loam textures in the argillic horizon
Parkalley - are very deep
Parkay - are deep or very deep and are neutral to moderately alkaline
Rangertaft - have mollic epipedons that are 40 to 50cm thick
Redbird - are very deep, and have horizons with secondary calcium carbonate accumulation
Rutherford - have a particle-size control section dominated by tuff fragments
Sweetmount - are deep to a paralithic contact
Woodhurst - are slightly to moderately alkaline in the lower part of the argillic and have an ustic moisture regime

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Lanform - mountains and plateaus
Parent material - formed in residuum and colluvium derived from basalt
Slopes - 5 to 65 percent
Elevation - 1250 to 2134 m.
Climate - subhumid with cold, moist winters and cool, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation - 635 to 990 mm, most of which comes as snow; additional moisture may occur as a result of snow drifting and trapping by vegetation
Mean annual temperature - 3.9 to 7.2 degrees C.
Fost-free season - 65 to 75 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Demast and Ticanot soils. Demast soils are very deep and occur on concave mountainsides and lower slopes. Ticanot soils are shallow to a lithic contact and are on convex positions on mountainsides.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; slow to rapid runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Bluebell soils are used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat. These soils support a forest canopy of ponderosa pine with an understory of mountain big sagebrush, Idaho fescue, and arrowleaf balsamroot.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Idaho, MLRA 43B. These soils are moderately extensive.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: BOZEMAN, MONTANA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Modoc County (Surprise Valley-Home Camp Area), California, 1971.

REMARKS: The revision of February 2004 changed the typical pedon and moved the type location from Modoc County, California to Elko County, Nevada. The original type location in Modoc County, California was reexamined by field soil scientists in 2003. The Bluebell soils in the Surprise Valley-Home Camp Area soil survey has been determined to be very deep, ashy-skeletal, and is now correlated to the tentative Cowbell series.

The revision of March 2014 correlated the Bluebell series mapped in MLRA 25 (Duck Valley Area, ID677) to the Rutherford series. The remaining Bluebell soils are mapped only in MLRA 43B.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 3 to 64cm (A1, A2, AB and Bt horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone from 48 to 64cm (Bt horizon)
Lithic contact - the zone starting at 64cm (R horizon)
Particle size control section - the zone from 48 to 64 cm (Bt horizon)

Bluebell soils have a cryic temperature regime and a xeric moisture regime.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.