LOCATION LEAVENWORTH WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Leavenworth fine sandy loam - pasture (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Ap--0 to 7 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) fine sandy loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak coarse granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many roots; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
A--7 to 23 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) fine sandy loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common roots; many fine pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (14 to 20 inches thick)
AC--23 to 70 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) stratified layers of micaceous loam and loamy fine sand, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; massive; soft, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; few roots; common fine and few medium pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Chelan County, Washington; 900 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 24, T. 24 N., R. 17 E., along bank of the Icicle River, 100 feet west of the east Leavenworth Road. (Latitude 47 degrees, 34 minutes, 1.7 seconds north, Longitude 120 degrees, 39 minutes, 56.4 seconds west).
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: usually moist but are dry for 60 to 75 consecutive days following summer solstice; xeric soil moisture regime
Soil temperature: mean annual soil temperature is 48 to 52 degrees F.
Rock fragments: 0 to 10 percent in the particle-size control section
Reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline
Particle-size control section textures: dominantly fine sandy loam or loam with thin, less than 1 inches thick, strata of loamy fine sand.
Clay content: 5 to 10 percent clay in the particle size control section
Mollic epipedon: is more than 20 inches thick.
Ap and A horizons
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2, dry or moist
Textures: loam, fine sandy loam and silt loam and many pedons contain thin lenses of loamy fine sand.
AC horizon
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Values: 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma: 1 or 2, moist or dry
Some pedons contain redox concentrations below 40 inches
Texture: loam or fine sandy loam, and contains thin lenses of loamy fine sand.
Rock fragments: thin layers containing up to 30 percent rock fragments in some pedons below 40 inches
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Coxlake, Deerspring, Endersby, Evans, Flofeather, Lapwai, Narcisse, Okanogan, Patit Creek, Plinco, Pleasant View, Porter, Poween, Redola, Threecreeks, and Tombeall series. Coxlake soils are dry for less than 60 consecutive days. Deerspring, Okanogan, and Poween soils are dry for more than 75 consecutive days. Endersby soils are dry more than 90 consecutive days and are well drained. Evans soils are slightly acid in the control section and lack loamy fine sand strata in the control section. Flofeather soils have an aridic bordering on xeric soil moisture regime. Lapwai soils have secondary accumulations of calcium carbonate at 30 to 40 inches and have 10 to 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section. Narcisse soils have redox features within 30 inches of the surface and lack loamy fine sand strata in the control section. Patit Creek soils have more than 50 percent coarse fragments in the lower part of the control section. Pleasant View soils have 12 to 25 percent calcium carbonate accumulation below the mollic epipedon. Plinco soils are dry for about 105 consecutive days and have 15 to 20 percent gravel in the particle-size control section. Porter soils have an aridic soil moisture regime bordering on xeric. Redola soils are calcareous throughout the particle-size control section. Threecreeks soils have 15 to 18 percent clay in the particle-size control section and have sandy substratum textures at depths of 35 to 45 inches. Tombeall soils have redox concentrations at depths of 12 to 30 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Leavenworth soils are on bottomlands adjacent to streams. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. The soils formed in alluvium derived from granite, gneiss, schist, and micaceous sandstone. Elevations are 1,100 to 1,500 feet. The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 15 to 25 inches. The mean January temperature is 24 to 27 degrees F, the mean July temperature is 68 to 72 degrees F, and the mean annual air temperature is 46 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free season is 130 to 165 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brief soils. Brief soils have a mollic epipedon less than 20 inches thick, have a regular decrease in organic carbon with depth, and are well drained.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; runoff is slow; permeability is moderate. Subject to occasional stream overflow. Subject to high water table for short periods of time during the winter and early spring.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mainly for irrigated pasture, irrigated orchards, dryland pasture, and woodlots. Native vegetation is ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir with an understory of elk sedge, antelope bitterbrush, common snowberry and spirea.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northcentral Washington; MLRA 6 and 44. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Chelan County, Washington, 1918.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon: from 0 to 23 inches (Ap and A horizons)