LOCATION BEARPAWMEADOW OR
Established Series
Rev. RJO/DAL/KMS
11/2018
BEARPAWMEADOW SERIES
Landscape--mountains, plateaus
Landform--mountain slopes, plateaus, mass failures on mountain slopes
Slope--0 to 90 percent
Parent material--thin mantle of volcanic ash over colluvium or till derived from andesite or basalt
Mean annual precipitation--about 1200 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 3 degrees C
Depth class--moderately deep to lithic bedrock
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic Andic Haplocryepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Bearpawmeadow ashy silt loam in an area of woodland, on a 20-percent, south-facing slope at an elevation of 1725 m (All textures are apparent field textures.)
Oi--0 to 3 cm; slightly decomposed needles, twigs, and logs
A--3 to 10 cm; ashy silt loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear wavy boundary
Bw--10 to 33 cm; ashy silt loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/4) dry, brown (7.5YR 5/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores and few very fine tubular pores; few fine spherical concretions; 2 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt wavy boundary
2Eb--33 to 48 cm; very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine tubular and irregular pores; 25 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary
2Bwb--48 to 69 cm; very stony loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine and very fine subangular blocky; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores and few very fine irregular pores; 30 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 10 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt irregular boundary
2R--69 cm; andesitic tuff-breccia
TYPE LOCATION: Grant County, Oregon, in the NE1/4SW1/4NE1/4 of section 15, T. 8 S., R. 35.5 E.; Granite U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle; latitude 44.8702895, longitude -118.4025394, Datum WGS84 (Coordinate source estimated from PLSS details)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--4 to 6 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature--8 to 11 degrees C
Mean winter soil temperature--0 to 2 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry 30 to 40 consecutive days in summer
Cambic horizon--upper part 15 to 25 cm thick, buried part 20 to 45 cm thick
Depth to lithic contact--50 to 100 cm
Thickness of ash-influenced layers--18 to 35 cm
Estimated properties of layers influenced by volcanic ash
*Ammonium oxalate extractable Al + 1/2 Fe--1.5 to 3.0 percent
*0.02- to 2.0-mm fraction--40 to 60 percent
*Volcanic ash content in 0.02- to 2.0-mm fraction--60 to 90 percent
*1/3-bar bulk density--0.65 to 1.00 g/cm3
*Phosphate retention--60 to 90 percent
*15-bar water retention--5 to 12 percent (dried samples)
*8 x Si plus 2 x Fe--5 to 12 percent
Particle-size control section
*Clay content--5 to 15 percent
*Total rock fragment content-- 35 to 50 percent
A horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--2.5 or 3 moist
Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy silt loam, ashy loam
Clay content--3 to 12 percent
Sand content--27 to 60 percent
Organic matter content--1.0 to 4.5 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 22 percent
Gravel content--0 to 20 percent
Cobble content--0 to 2 percent
Reaction--5.6 to 7.3
Thickness--3 to 20 cm
Bw horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy silt, ashy silt loam, ashy loam
Clay content--1 to 6 percent
Sand content--10 to 68 percent
Organic matter content--0.5 to 2.5 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 10 percent
Gravel content--0 to 10 percent
Cobble content--0 to 5 percent
Reaction--6.1 to 7.3
Thickness--15 to 25 cm
2Eb horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--4 to 6 dry
Chroma--2 to 4 moist, 1 to 4 dry
Fine-earth texture--loam, sandy loam
Clay content--6 to 18 percent
Sand content--40 to 65 percent
Organic matter content--1 to 2 percent
Total rock fragment content--25 to 50 percent
Gravel content--10 to 35 percent
Cobble content--35 to 65 percent
Stone content--0 to 5 percent
Reaction--6.1 to 7.3
Thickness--13 to 25 cm
2Bwb horizon
Hue--5YR, 7.5YR, 10YR
Value--3 or 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma--3 or 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--loam, sandy loam
Clay content--10 to 20 percent
Sand content--40 to 65 percent
Organic matter content--0 to 2 percent
Total rock fragment content--40 to 50 percent
Gravel content--15 to 35 percent
Cobble content--0 to 15 percent
Stone content--0 to 10 percent
Reaction--6.1 to 6.5
Thickness--20 to 45 cm
A 2C horizon may be in areas underlain by till.
COMPETING SERIES:
Bordengulch--argillite fragments
Marblepoint,
Vandamine--very deep
Monumentrock--deep to lithic contact
Risingwolf--no lithic contact in upper 150 cm
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--1650 to 2410 m
Climate--cold, wet winters; cool, moist summers
Mean annual precipitation--640 to 1700 mm
Mean annual air temperature--1 to 6 degrees C
Frost-free period--22 to 70 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Bocker--on plateaus and mountains; less than 25 cm (very shallow) to lithic contact
Burgerbutte--on backslopes of ridges on glacially scoured or colluvial mountains; 25 to 50 cm (shallow) to lithic contact
Crawfish--on ridgetops, side slopes, and shoulders of mountains; 10 to 25 cm (very shallow) to lithic contact
Lackeyshole--on side slopes of mountains; 100 to 150 cm (deep) to lithic contact; ash mantle more than 35 cm thick
Monumentrock--on backslopes and shoulders of mountains; 100 to 150 cm (deep) to lithic contact
Mountemily--on ridgetops, side slopes, and shoulders of mountains; more than 150 cm (very deep) to lithic contact; ash mantle more than 35 cm thick
Puzzlecreek--on backslopes of mountains; 50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to lithic contact
Troutmeadows--on ridges and upper side slopes of mountains; 50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to lithic contact; ash mantle more than 35 cm thick
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Saturation during normal years--none
Flooding--none
Ponding---none
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high or high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--timber production, watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation, livestock grazing
Potential native vegetation--subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, grand fir, whitebark pine, western larch, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, grouse huckleberry, heartleaf arnica, sidebells wintergreen, darkwoods violet, big huckleberry, elk sedge, sweetcicely, Utah honeysuckle, lupine, Ross' sedge, prince's pine, skunkleaf polemonium, Sitka valerian, western meadow-rue, sickletop lousewort, pinemat manzanita, western needlegrass
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon; MLRA 10; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Oregon; 2012
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Ochric epipedon
*Cambic horizon--zones from 10 to 33 cm and 48 to 69 cm
*Volcanic glass--zone from 3 to 33 cm
*Andic soil properties--zone from 3 to 33 cm
*Depth to lithologic discontinuity--33 cm
*Particle-size control section--zone from 28 to 69 cm
8/2016--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.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.