LOCATION BURROUGHS WA
Established Series
Rev. TMR/MPR
07/2017
BURROUGHS SERIES
Landscape--Cascade Mountains
Landform--ridges, cirques, glacial-valley walls
Slope--15 to 100 percent
Parent material--volcanic ash and colluvium over andesite
Mean annual precipitation--about 2500 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 2 degrees C
Depth class--moderately deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial, glassy Humic Vitricryands
TYPICAL PEDON: Burroughs medial fine sandy loam in a meadow on a west-facing valley wall with a slope of 65 percent and at an elevation of 1835 m (The soil was slightly moist throughout when described on July 31, 2012.)
Oi--0 to 2 cm; slightly decomposed plant material derived from grasses and forbs; common very fine and fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt wavy boundary
A1--2 to 16 cm; medial fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine and few medium and coarse roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel and 5 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary
A2--16 to 50 cm; medial sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, black (10YR 2/1) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel and 5 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary
A3--50 to 68 cm; gravelly medial sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine subangular andesite gravel, 15 percent medium and coarse subangular andesite gravel, and 5 percent subangular andesite cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear irregular boundary
A4--68 to 80 cm; gravelly medial sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 5 percent fine subangular andesite gravel, 15 percent medium and coarse subangular andesite gravel, and 5 percent subangular andesite cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt irregular boundary
2R--80 cm; fractured andesite
TYPE LOCATION: Pierce County, Washington, about 8 km north of Chinook Pass, along the west slope of Crystal Mountain in Mount Rainier National Park; about 610 m south and 750 m east of the northwest corner of section 23, T. 17 N., R. 10 E., Willamette Meridian; White River Park, Washington, U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle; latitude 46.943841 degrees north, longitude -121.503829 degrees west, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--1 to 5 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October
Depth to lithic contact--50 to 100 cm
Thickness of umbric epipedon--25 to 100 cm
All mineral horizons
*Organic carbon content--greater than 3 percent
*Volcanic glass content--50 to 75 percent
*Ammonium oxalate Al plus 1/2 Fe--greater than 1 percent
Particle-size control section
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Total rock fragment content--5 to 35 percent
*Pumice paragravel--typically in upper part of profile
*Subangular andesite gravel and cobbles--typically in lower part of profile
Oi horizon (where present in areas near subalpine coniferous canopies)
Thickness--0 to 4 cm
Oe horizon
Thickness--0 to 2 cm
A1 horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 or 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry
Chroma--1 or 2 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--medial fine sandy loam, medial sandy loam
Content of clay--1 to 10 percent
Content of pararock fragments--0 to 15 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
Thickness--10 to 20 cm
A2 horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 or 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry
Chroma--1 or 2 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial coarse sandy loam, medial loamy sand
Content of clay--1 to 10 percent
Content of pararock fragments--5 to 35 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
Thickness--15 to 35 cm
A3 horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 or 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial loam, medial coarse sandy loam
Content of clay--1 to 10 percent
Total content of pararock and rock fragments--15 to 35 percent
Content of fine to coarse pumice paragravel--0 to 5 percent
Content of fine to coarse subangular andesite gravel--15 to 35 percent
Content of subangular andesite cobbles--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
Thickness--15 to 30 cm
A4 horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 to 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial loam, medial fine sandy loam
Content of clay--1 to 10 percent
Total content of rock fragments--15 to 35 percent
Content of fine to coarse subangular andesite gravel--15 to 35 percent
Content of subangular andesite cobbles--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
Thickness--10 to 30 cm
Bw1 horizon (where present)
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--4 to 6 moist, 5 or 6 dry
Chroma--2 to 6 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial loam, medial fine sandy loam
Content of clay--1 to 10 percent
Total content of rock fragments--15 to 35 percent
Content of fine to coarse subangular andesite gravel--15 to 35 percent
Content of subangular andesite cobbles--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
COMPETING SERIES:
Littletahoma--no lithic contact within 150 cm (very deep); lithologic discontinuity within 100 cm of mineral soil surface
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--1400 to 2200 m
Climate--cool, dry summers; cold, wet winters
Mean annual precipitation--1700 to 3300 mm
Mean annual air temperature--0 to 4 degrees C
Frost-free period--30 to 60 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Littletahoma--no lithic contact within 150 cm (very deep); in similar landform positions
Tatoosh--lithic contact within 50 cm (shallow); in similar landform positions
Mountwow--aquic conditions with an upper limit of 25 cm from soil surface; in concave areas of similar landforms that receive water from adjacent slopes
Ipsut,
Owyhigh,
Tipsoo--ochric epipedon; albic and spodic horizons; in similar forested landform positions
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--high or very high throughout
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation
Potential natural vegetation--subalpine and alpine meadows composed of Columbia brome, alpine aster, leafy aster, western columbine, arctic lupine, Sitka valerian, common yarrow, and smooth woodrush; scattered subalpine fir and mountain hemlock
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Cascade Mountains, Washington; MLRA 3; moderate extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington; 2014; name from Burroughs Mountain in Mount Rainier National Park
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 2 to 80 cm
*Umbric epipedon--zone from 2 to 80 cm
*Andic soil properties--zone from 2 to 80 cm
*Volcanic glass--zone from 2 to 80 cm
*Depth to lithic contact--80 cm
*Distinguishable tephra layers--Mount St. Helens Wn tephra (A1 horizon), Mount Rainier C tephra (mixed in A1 and A2 horizons), Mount St. Helens Yn tephra (A3 horizon)
5/2017--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.