LOCATION VIRTUE OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Argidurids
TYPICAL PEDON: Virtue silt loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 7 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and very fine granular structure; soft, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (3 to 7 inches thick)
A2--7 to 15 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, sticky and plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)
Bt--15 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on peds and in pores; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); gradual smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)
Btk--22 to 25 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silty clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; few thin clay films on peds and in pores; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
2Bk--25 to 29 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick)
2Bkqm--29 to 42 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) duripan; indurated plates with weakly cemented calcareous loam between plates; very firm and friable; nearly continuous silica coatings on surface of plates; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4). (10 to 20 inches thick)
3Bkq--42 to 60 inches; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) very gravelly loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; weakly cemented; 50 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Baker County, Oregon; about 6 miles east of Baker; 315 feet east of fence, S1/2NW1/4SW1/4 sec. 10, T. 9 S., R. 41 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 55 degrees F, and the mean summer temperature from 60 to 66 degrees F. The depth to the duripan is 20 to 40 inches. The depth to secondary lime ranges from 16 to 24 inches.
The A horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 4 dry and moist.
The Bt horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 3 or 4 dry and moist. It is silt loam or silty clay loam with 25 to 35 percent clay and less than 15 percent coarser than very fine sand. In thick argillic horizons the lower part is clay or clay loam in some pedons. It has weak or moderate subangular blocky structure, has thin to moderately thick clay films and is slightly or strongly effervescent.
The 2Bk horizon has 0 to 5 percent basaltic gravel.
The 2Bkqm has indurated plates or layers, which have weakly cemented soil material between them, but some pedons are massive and indurated in the upper part and weakly to strongly cemented below.
The 3Bkq horizon has value of 5 through 8, 4 through 6 moist and chromas of 3 or 4 moist and dry. It is stratified loam, sandy loam or loamy sand with 0 to 55 percent gravel and 0 to 5 percent cobbles. It is weakly to strongly cemented. Some pedons have layers of duripans.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Elijah series. Elijah soils are noncalcareous throughout the A and Bt horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: The soils are on fans and terraces at elevations of 2,300 to 4,000 feet. Slopes commonly are less than 7 percent but range from 0 to 20 percent. The soils formed in lacustrine sediment and alluvium mixed with loess and volcanic ash. The climate is semiarid and has a mean annual precipitation of 9 to 12 inches; a mean annual air temperature of 45 to 50 degrees F; and a frost-free period of 110 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ardnas, Encina, Legler, North Powder, Ruckles and Ruclick soils. Ardnas and Legler soils are fine-loamy and deep. Encina soils are fine, deep and are on terrace side slopes. North Powder soils are fine-loamy, and are on adjacent granitic hills. Ruckles and Ruclick soils are clayey-skeletal and are on adjacent basaltic hills.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to slow runoff; moderately slow permeability in the Bt horizon and very slow or impermeable in the duripan.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for rangeland, irrigated small grain, hay and pasture. The native vegetation is bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, Sandberg bluegrass, Thurber needlegrass and Wyoming big sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Oregon. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Baker Area, Baker County, Oregon; 1942.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 15 inches.
Duripan - The zone from 29 to 42 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for one pedon (S70-OR-23-1) by Oregon State University laboratory on soils collected in Malheur County, 1970.
Reclassification of this series occurred on 4/00 by adding superactive.