LOCATION ROYAL WA+CA ID OR
Established Series
Rev. DES/RJE/TLA
09/2019
ROYAL SERIES
Landscape--valleys
Landform--terraces
Slope--0 to 40 percent
Parent material--sandy alluvium and wind-modified glaciofluvial sediment
Mean annual precipitation--about 180 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 11 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--aridic (bordering xeric)
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--xeric
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Royal fine sandy loam in an area of grassland
A--0 to 13 cm; fine sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many roots; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); abrupt smooth boundary
Bw--13 to 38 cm; fine sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common roots; few very fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary
Bk--38 to 76 cm; fine sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common roots; few very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary
C1--76 to 102 cm; loamy fine sand, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) moist; massive; soft, very friable; few roots; few very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary
C2--102 to 117 cm; fine sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few roots; few fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary
C3--117 to 145 cm; loamy fine sand, gray (10YR 6/1) dry, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; single grain; loose; few roots; interstitial pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.6); abrupt wavy boundary
C4--145 to 178 cm; fine sandy loam, light gray (10YR 7/2) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few roots; few very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.7)
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Washington, Farm Unit 126 of Irrigation Block 16; about 425 m north and 60 m west of the southeast corner of section 28, T. 11 N., R. 29 E., Willamette Meridian
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--10 to 13 degrees C
Soil moisture--usually dry in all parts between depths of 20 to 60 cm about 105 to 120 consecutive days when the soil temperature is higher than 5 degrees C
Depth to calcium carbonate--25 to 112 cm
Texture of 25- to 100-cm particle-size control section--averages sandy loam; small pockets or thin strata of silt loam in some pedons
A horizon
Value--3 to 5 moist
Chroma--2 or 3 dry or moist
Thickness--8 to 25 cm
Bw horizon
Value--5 to 7 dry, 3 to 6 moist
Chroma--2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture--very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand, loamy very fine sand
Thickness--15 to 46 cm
Bk and C horizons
Value--5 to 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist
Chroma--1 to 4 dry or moist
Texture--stratified very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy very fine sand, loamy fine sand, and fine sand
Thickness of Bk horizon--25 to 64 cm
Combined thickness of C horizon--greater than 79 cm
COMPETING SERIES:
Bijorja--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a paralithic contact (granodiorite)
Chedehap--sandy 2B horizon in lower part of particle-size control section
Clems--no calcium carbonates within a depth of 114 cm
Drewsey--mean annual soil temperature of 8 to 10 degrees C
Haybourne--no identifiable secondary calcium carbonates
Heist--more than 35 percent rock fragments below a depth of 100 cm
Irrigon,
Wiehl--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a paralithic contact (sandstone)
McClenden--silt loam and loam in upper part of particle-size control section
Prosser,
Vining--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lithic contact (basalt)
Rebel--no identifiable secondary calcium carbonate
Scooteney--20 to 35 percent rock fragments in particle-size control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--typically 90 to 400 m, 700 to 1075 m in Idaho
Climate--arid; hot, dry summers; cool, moist winters
Mean annual precipitation--150 to 250 mm
Mean January air temperature--about -3 degrees C
Mean July air temperature--about 22 degrees C
Mean annual air temperature--about 9 to 12 degrees C
Frost-free season--140 to 210 days in Washington, 120 to 150 days in Idaho
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Hezel--sandy over loamy particle-size class
Quincy,
Timmerman--sandy particle-size class
Taunton--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a duripan
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--irrigated crop production, livestock grazing
Native vegetation--needle and thread, bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, big sagebrush
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Washington, southern Idaho, and north-central Oregon; MLRAs 7 and 11; large extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Adams County, Washington; 1971
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon
*Ochric epipedon
*Cambic horizon--zone from 13 to 38 cm
*Calcium carbonate enrichment--zone from 38 to 76 cm (insufficient calcium carbonate in Bk horizon to qualify as calcic horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--KSSL pedon numbers 40A0978, 40A0979
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.