LOCATION NILE WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy over loamy, glassy over isotic Xeric Vitricryands
TYPICAL PEDON: Nile ashy sandy loam - forestland, on a 23 percent north-facing slope at an elevation of 4,050 feet. (When described on August 23, 1991 the soil was dry throughout. Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated. All textures are apparent field textures.)
Oi--0 to 2 inches; slightly decomposed forest litter mixed with a small amount of 1980 Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
A--2 to 4 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) ashy loamy sand, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; single grain; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine and few medium roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 20 percent pumice less than 2 mm in size; 10 percent gravel; NaF pH 10.6; moderately acid (pH 5.8); gradual smooth boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Bw1--4 to 10 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine and medium and few coarse roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 10 percent gravel; NaF pH 11.0; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt smooth boundary.
Bw2--10 to 18 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine and medium granular; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and common fine and medium roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; NaF pH 9.6; strongly acid (pH 5.5); gradual smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of Bw horizon is 12 to 28 inches thick)
2Bw3--18 to 35 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; 25 percent paragravel and 20 percent paracobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.1); gradual smooth boundary. (15 to 30 inches)
3Bw4--35 to 47 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium granular; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; weak very fine, fine and medium roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 25 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; 15 percent paragravel and 15 percent paracobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); gradual wavy boundary.
3Bw5--47 to 62 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) cobbly sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure parting to moderate medium and coarse granular; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 10 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; 10 percent tuff paragravel and 20 percent tuff paracobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of 3Bw horizon is 0 to 16 inches thick)
4BC--62 to 72 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) very cobbly sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; many fine pores; 20 percent gravel and 40 percent cobbles; 10 percent tuff paragravel and 20 percent tuff parcobbles; neutral (pH 6.6).
TYPE LOCATION: Yakima County, Washington; about 8 miles northwest of Nile, Washington; about 900 feet south and 400 feet east of the northwest corner of section 5, T. 16 N., R. 14 E.; Latitude 46 degrees, 54 minutes, 31 seconds N.and Longitude121 degrees, 06 minutes, 56 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 41 to 43 degrees F. The mean summer soil temperature is 44 to 47 degrees F. These soils are usually moist but are dry in all parts of the moisture control section for 45 to 75 consecutive days following the summer solstice. The upper 14 to 35 inches is dominated by volcanic ash and has an estimated moist bulk density of 0.75 to 1.10 g/cc, glass content of 30 to 60 percent, acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half the acid-oxalate extractable iron of 0.5 to 1.5 percent, phosphorus retention is 25 to 50, and 15 bar water retention of 8 to 10 percent for air dried samples. The lower particle-size control section averages 7 to 16 percent clay, 15 to 30 percent rock fragments and 15 to 30 percent pararock fragments.
The A horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist and chroma of 2 or 3 dry or moist. Reaction is moderately acid to slightly acid.
The Bw horizon has value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist and chroma of 2 or 3 dry, 2 to 4 moist. Texture is ashy sandy loam or gravelly ashy sandy loam. Reaction is slightly to strongly acid.
The 2Bw horizon reaction is slightly to moderately acid. Texture is gravelly sandy loam, very gravelly sandy loam, cobbly sandy loam, or very cobbly sandy loam.
The 3Bw horizon and BC horizon, when present, has value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist and chroma of 2 to 4 dry or moist. Texture is very gravelly sandy loam, very cobbly sandy loam, or cobbly sandy loam. Reaction is slightly acid to neutral.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Almac, Codylake, Gahee, Helter and Shanahan series. Soils with similar classification except for mineralogy class are the Gap and Prairie series. Almac, Gap and Gahee soils have argillic horizons. Codylake soils are 40 to 60 inches deep to a paralithic contact. Helter soils have silt loam texture in the upper part of the control section and silt loam, silty clay loam or loam texture in the lower part of the control section with no pararock fragments. Prairie soils are moderately deep to bedrock. Shanahan soils have 5 to 35 percent pumice sized fragments greater than 2 mm in size in the ash mantle and contain 70 to 100 percent glass and glass coated aggregates.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nile soils are on mountain side slopes at elevations of 3,000 to 5,200 feet. These soils formed in volcanic ash over colluvium from conglomorate tuffaceous sandstone of Ellensburg Formation materials. These soils are in a marine influenced climate characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The mean annual precipitation is 40 to 55 inches. The average January temperature is about 24 degrees F. and the average July temperature is 62 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is 41 to 43 degrees F. The frost-free season is 40 to 80 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Carmack, Seeburg and Snilec soils. Carmack soils are found on mountain side slopes and have a mollic epipedon. Seeburg soils are found on mountain side slopes and are frigid. Snilec soils are found on mountain side slopes, are frigid and have an argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained, slow to very rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for timber production, wildlife habitat and recreation. Native vegetation is western hemlock, grand fir, Douglas-fir, western white pine, lodgepole pine, western larch and Engelmann spruce with an understory of twinflower, princes pine, low huckleberry, Oregon grape, queencup beadlily, western rattlesnake plantain, alpine and sidebells pyrola, elksedge and pachistima.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Wenatchee National Forest, Naches Area, Yakima County, Washington. MLRA 6. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Yakima County, Washington, 1995.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Ochric epipedon - 2 to 4 inches (A horizon)
Andic soil properties - 2 to 18 inches (A and Bw1 horizons)
Cambic horizon - 4 to 62 inches (Bw1, Bw2, 2Bw3, 3Bw4 and 3Bw5 horizons)
Particle-size control section - from 2 to 42 inches with the zone from 2 to 18 inches qualifying as ashy, the zone from 18 to 35 inches qualifying as loamy and the zone from 35 to 42 inches qualifying as loamy-skeletal. The rock fragment weighted average of the noncontrasting loamy and loamy-skeletal layers is 30 percent.
Depths to diagnostic horizons and features are measured from the top of the first mineral layer.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data is available for soilsample # S91WA-077-007; NSSL, Lincoln, Nebraska. This pedon is a taxadjunct to the series.