LOCATION AKERITE OR
Established Series
Rev. WEL/SCW/KMS
11/2018
AKERITE SERIES
Landscape--plateaus, mountains
Landform--plateaus, mountain slopes, gentle toeslopes and footslopes adjacent to wet meadows on structural benches or plateaus
Slope--0 to 15 percent
Parent material--thick mantle of volcanic ash over colluvium derived from basalt
Mean annual precipitation--about 750 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 6 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--moderately well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--frigid
Soil moisture subclass--aquic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy over loamy, glassy over isotic, frigid Aquic Vitrixerands
TYPICAL PEDON: Akerite ashy silt loam in an area of woodland, on a 2-percent slope at an elevation of 1275 m (When described on May 9, 1990, the soil was moist throughout.)
Oi--0 to 3 cm; slightly decomposed needles
A1--3 to 13 cm; ashy silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common coarse and fine roots; many irregular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary
A2--13 to 33 cm; ashy silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common coarse and fine roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); gradual wavy boundary
Bw1--33 to 51 cm; ashy silt loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary
Bw2--51 to 79 cm; ashy silt loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary
Bw3--79 to 94 cm; ashy silt loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron and manganese accumulation; slightly acid (pH 6.4); gradual wavy boundary
2Bt1--94 to 117 cm; silty clay loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; common fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron and manganese accumulation; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary
2Bt2--117 to 155 cm; silty clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid (pH 6.4)
TYPE LOCATION: Wallowa County, Oregon, about 3 km southwest of Maxville, just south of the dirt road, or 18 km northwest of the town of Wallowa; about 305 m east and 305 m north of the southwest corner of section 20, T. 3 N., R. 42 E.; latitude 45.7227501, longitude -117.6019868, datum WGS 84 (coordinates estimated from PLSS details)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture--usually moist, but dry in all parts 45 to 60 consecutive days in summer
Mean annual soil temperature--5 to 8 degrees C
Depth to argillic horizon--65 to 100 cm
Depth to redoximorphic concentrations--65 to 100 cm
Thickness of ash-influenced layers--35 to 91 cm
Estimated properties of layers influenced by volcanic ash
*Ammonium oxalate extractable Al + Fe--1 to 2 percent
*Volcanic ash content in 0.02- to 2.0-mm fraction--50 to 70 percent
*Phosphate retention--55 to 70 percent
*15-bar water retention--10.3 percent (dried samples)
A horizon
Value--3 or 4 moist, 5 or 6 dry
Chroma--3 or 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy silt loam, ashy very fine sandy loam
Clay content--5 to 15 percent
Sand content--10 to 30 percent
Organic matter content--2 to 5 percent
Reaction--5.6 to 6.5
Combined thickness--15 to 40 cm
Bw horizon
Value--4 or 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy silt loam, ashy very fine sandy loam
Clay content--10 to 20 percent
Sand content--10 to 30 percent
Organic matter content--1 to 2 percent
Reaction--5.6 to 6.5
Combined thickness--40 to 80 cm
2Bt horizon
Value--3 or 4 moist, 5 or 6 dry
Chroma--3 or 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--clay, silty clay loam
Clay content--25 to 45 percent
Sand content--5 to 15 percent
Organic matter content--0.5 to 1.0 percent
Gravel content--0 to 10 percent
Reaction--6.1 to 7.3
Combined thickness--50 to 90 cm
3C horizon (where present)
Texture--loam, clay loam
Gravel content--0 to 10 percent
A 2Bw2 horizon is in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: None
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--1040 to 1890 m
Climate--cold, wet winters; hot, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation--430 to 1000 mm
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 7 degrees C
Frost-free period--50 to 100 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Klicker--moderately deep; loamy-skeletal; on south-facing slopes
Olot--moderately deep; ashy over loamy-skeletal; on ridgetops
Tolo--morphologically similar to Akerite soils, but well drained and generally on north-facing slopes
Wilkins--somewhat poorly drained; in adjacent meadows
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Saturation during normal years--at a depth of 76 to 107 cm in March through June
Flooding--none
Ponding--none
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high or high in the upper part, moderately low or moderately high in the lower part
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--timber production, livestock grazing
Potential native vegetation--Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, pinegrass, showy aster, elk sedge, woodland strawberry, heartleaf arnica, western fescue, longstalk clover, largeleaf sandwort, common snowberry
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Oregon; MLRA 9; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wallowa County, Oregon; 1998
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Ochric epipedon
*Cambic horizon--zone from 3 to 94 cm
*Alfic feature and argillic horizon--zone from the mineral soil surface to a depth of 155 cm
*Aquic feature--zone from 79 to 117 cm; redoximorphic concentrations
*Volcanic glass--zone from 33 to 94 cm
*Particle-size control section--zone from 3 to 103 cm
Akerite soils are in areas where frost pockets delay the onset of the growing season and encourage growth of hardy trees in winter.
5/2016--This official series description was updated according to SSR1 Technical Note 11--Content and Format of Official Series Descriptions (revised 12/2015). Most of the changes were in formatting; no major technical changes were made.
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Partial laboratory data--reference sample number S91OR-63-002; Wallowa County, Oregon; Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1/1991
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.