LOCATION BATTLEAX OR
Tentative Series
DCR/MPR
12/2024
BATTLEAX SERIES
Landscape--western Cascade glaciated mountains
Landform--mountain slopes, glacial-valley walls, cirque headwalls
Slope--30 to 90 percent
Parent material--colluvium derived from volcanic rocks mixed with volcanic ash
Mean annual precipitation--about 2800 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 6 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial-skeletal, amorphic Typic Haplocryands
TYPICAL PEDON: Battleax very gravelly medial loam on a forested, south-facing, 65-percent mountain slope at an elevation of about 1375 m
Oi--0 to 5 cm; slightly decomposed plant material; clear wavy boundary
A--5 to 20 cm; very gravelly medial loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and common fine to coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary
AB--20 to 48 cm; very gravelly medial loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine, medium, and coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary
Bw1--48 to 90 cm; very gravelly medial sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine, medium, and coarse roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 50 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear wavy boundary
Bw2--90 to 150 cm; extremely gravelly medial sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine and medium roots; many very fine interstitial pores; 60 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.6)
TYPE LOCATION: Marion County, Oregon; approximately 7 km east-southeast of Elkhorn, on the Willamette National Forest; about 15 m north and 80 m west of the southeast corner of section 2, T. 9 S., R. 4 E., Willamette Meridian; latitude 44.8139972, longitude -122.2788417, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--5 to 8 degrees C
Thickness of umbric epipedon--25 to 75 cm
Ammonium extractable Al plus 1/2 Fe--2 to 4 percent
Particles 0.02 to 2.0-mm diameter--greater than 30 percent of the fine-earth fraction
Volcanic glass content in 0.02- to 2.0-mm fraction--5 to 30 percent
Phosphate retention--85 to 100 percent
15-bar water tension--30 to 70 percent (undried samples), greater than 15 percent (dried samples)
1/3-bar bulk density--0.6 to 1.1 g/cm3
Reaction--pH 5.1 to 6.0
Clay content--7 to 18 percent
O horizons
*Composition--slightly to moderately decomposed plant material
*Thickness--2 to 10 cm
A and AB horizons
*Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
*Value--2 to 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry
*Chroma--2 or 3 moist, 2 to 4 dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial loam, medial sandy loam
*Total fragment content--35 to 60 percent
*Gravel content--20 to 60 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 15 percent
*Stone content--0 to 5 percent
*Organic carbon content--2 to 6 percent
*Thickness--25 to 75 cm
Bw horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
*Value--4 moist, 5 or 6 dry
*Chroma--3 or 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial loam, medial sandy loam
*Total fragment content--35 to 80 percent
*Gravel content--30 to 70 percent
*Cobble content--5 to 30 percent
*Stone content--0 to 10 percent
*Organic carbon content--1 to 3 percent
COMPETING SERIES:
Divers--ochric epipedon
Holderman--ochric epipedon
Oatman--ochric epipedon
Ohana--ochric epipedon
Otwin--ochric epipedon
Highcamp--100 to 150 cm to lithic contact
Hummington--50 to 100 cm to lithic contact
Icecap--50 to 100 cm to lithic contact
Idanha--averages 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--980 to 1675 m
Climate--cold, wet winters; mild, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation--2000 to 3600 mm
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 7 degrees C
Frost-free period--60 to 105 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Chucksney--greater than 6 percent organic carbon in upper part of umbric epipedon; located on south-facing glacial-valley walls, mountaintops, and mountain slopes
Thader--spodic horizon; located on north-facing cirque headwalls and mountain slopes
Zygore--frigid soil temperature regime; located on mountain slopes and glacial-valley walls
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Flooding--none
Ponding--none
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--timber production, water supply, wildlife habitat, recreation
Potential natural vegetation--Pacific silver fir, western hemlock, Douglas-fir, Cascade barberry, pipsissewa, vine maple, thinleaf huckleberry, sweet after death, twinflower, bunchberry dogwood; commonly support a Pacific silver fir/dwarf Oregon grape (CFS 151) plant association (Field Guide to the Forested Plant Associations of the Westside Central Cascades of Northwest Oregon)
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Cascade Mountains in Oregon; MLRA 3; moderate extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES PROPOSED: Willamette National Forest, Marion County, Oregon; 2015; name from U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute quadrangle
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 5 to 105 cm
*Umbric epipedon--zone from 5 to 48 cm
*Cambic horizon--zone from 48 to 150 cm
*Andic soil properties--zone from 5 to 150 cm
*Volcanic glass--zone from 5 to 150 cm
8/2023--all mineral horizons meet criteria #3 for andic soil properties in the 13th edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy. All pedons have third-bar bulk density low enough to also meet criteria #2 (no ash required) throughout the umbric epipedon. Some pedons meet criteria #2 throughout the profile.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Typical pedon user ID--2015OR047805
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.