LOCATION FARWAY WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy over loamy-skeletal, glassy over isotic, frigid Typic Vitrixerands
TYPICAL PEDON: Farway gravelly ashy sandy loam, on a northeast facing slope of 40 percent at an elevation 1000 meters elevation under Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine forest. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. All textures are apparent field textures.)
Oe--0 to 3 cm; moderately decomposed needles and twigs; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--3 to 13 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic and weakly smeary; many very fine and fine roots; common fine and very fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); clear wavy boundary.
Bw1--13 to 25 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic and weakly smeary; many very fine and fine, and few medium roots; common fine and very fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); gradual wavy boundary.
Bw2--25 to 53 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly ashy sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic and weakly smeary; common very fine and fine, and few medium roots; common fine and very fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); gradual wavy boundary.
2C--53 to 152 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very gravelly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots in the upper part; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 40 percent subangular gravel and 10 percent subangular cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Okanogan County, Washington; about 11 kilometers west northwest of Winthrop, WA; about 670 meters west and 91 meters south of the northeast corner of section 27, T. 35 N., R. 20 E. Willamette Meridian. Latitude 48 degrees, 30 minutes, 43 seconds N., Longitude 120 degrees, 19 minutes, 28 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 3 to 8 degrees C. Frigid temperature regime.
Moisture control section: dry for 60 to 90 consecutive days following the summer solstice. Xeric moisture regime.
Rock fragment roundness classes: subrounded, subangular
Thickness of volcanic ash mantle: 36 to 85 cm
Particle-size control section - ashy upper part:
Moist bulk density - 0.75 to 0.95 g/cm3
Ammonium-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half iron - 1.0 to 3.5 percent
15-bar water retention - 5 to 12 percent for air dried samples
A horizon:
Hue - 10YR
Value - 2 to 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma - 2 to 4 moist or dry
Fine earth texture - ashy SL, ashy FSL
Rock fragments - 0 to 35 percent total
0 to 25 percent gravel
0 to 10 percent cobbles
0 to 5 percent stones
Clay content - 2 to 10 percent
Volcanic glass content - 30 to 60 percent
Reaction - strongly acid to neutral
Thickness - 0 to 30 centimeters
Bw horizons:
Hue - 10YR
Value - 3 to 5 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma - 3 or 4 moist or dry
Fine earth texture - ashy SL, ashy FSL
Rock fragments - 0 to 35 percent total
0 to 30 percent gravel
0 to 20 percent cobbles
0 to 5 percent stones
Clay content - 2 to 10 percent
Volcanic glass content - 30 to 60 percent
Reaction - strongly acid to neutral
Thickness - 25 to 70 centimeters
2BC horizons are sometimes present, with fine earth textures of COSL, SL, or LCOS, reaction of moderately acid to neutral, hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, moist value of 3 to 5 and moist chroma of 3 to 6.
2C horizon:
Hue - 10YR or 2.5Y
Value - 3 to 5 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma - 3 or 4 moist or dry
Fine earth texture -SL, FSL or COSL
Rock fragments - 35 to 80 percent total
25 to 60 percent gravel
5 to 35 percent cobbles
0 to 10 percent stones
Clay content - 2 to 10 percent
Volcanic glass content - 0 to 15 percent
Reaction - moderately acid to neutral
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Brannon, Capoose, Crackler, Elbowlake, Kellerbutte, Kootenai, Natapoc, Nevine, Olot, Rouen, Saska, and Vingulch series. Brannon soils are dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days following the summer solstice, and are 100 to 150 cm deep to a lithic contact. Saska soils are dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days following the summer solstice. Capoose, Olot, Rouen, and Vingulch soils are 50 to 102 cm to bedrock. Crackler soils are dry in the moisture control section for 45 to 60 consecutive days following the summer solstice and lack parent material of glacial origin. Elbowlake soils are ashy silt loam in the upper part of the particle-size control section and are moderately deep to a densic contact with glacial till. Kellerbutte soils have angular to very angular rock fragments and lack parent material of glacial origin. Kootenai soils are coarse sand or loamy coarse sand in the lower part of the particle-size control section. Natapoc and Nevine soils are moderately deep to a densic contact with glacial till.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Farway soils are on valley wall, debris apron, Pleistocene moraine, and Pleistocene terrace landforms at elevations of 500 to 1,500 meters. Slope range from 0 to 65 percent. These soils formed in volcanic ash over colluvium and reworked glacial drift. The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 500 to 800 millimeters. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 2 to 9 degrees F. The frost-free season is 75 to 115 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Buckrock, Gatewall, Goode (T), and Veridge soils. Buckrock soils are on open shoulders and ridges and are mesic. Gatewall soils are on backslopes and are cryic. Goode soils are on the more active portions of all the same landforms and have a mantle with andic soil properties that is 18 to 35 centimeters thick. The Veridge soils are on backslopes and shoulders and have bedrock at a depth of 50 to 102 centimeters.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained, high saturated hydraulic conductivity.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for watershed, recreation, woodland, wildlife habitat and livestock grazing. Native vegetation is Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine with an understory of pinegrass, birchleaf spirea, silky lupine, mountainlover, kinnikinnick, pachistima, serviceberryand Scouler willow.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North-central Washington on the eastern slopes of the North Cascade Mountains. This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Okanogan National Forest, Okanogan County, Washington, 2005.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include:
Ochric epipedon: 0 to 18 centimeters (Oi, A, and upper 5 centimeters of the Bw1 Horizon)
Cambic horizon: 13 to 53 centimeters (Bw horizons)
Andic soil properties: 3 to 53 centimeter (A, Bw1, and Bw2 horizons)
Particle-size control section: 3 to 103 centimeters (A, Bw1, Bw2, and upper 50 centimeters of the 2C horizon)
This description was updated in 2/2009 to incorporate the data from the North Cascades National Park Service Complex survey. It was converted to metric units and reformatted in semi-tabular format.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data is available for this series (sampled as Pasayten and correlated to Farway). National Soil Survey Laboratory Pedon number 08N0314 (User Pedon ID S08WA007002).