LOCATION CHENEY                  WA

Established Series
Rev. NCD/KMS/SBC
01/2023

CHENEY SERIES

The Cheney series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in sandy and gravelly glaciofluvial deposits mixed with loess and volcanic ash in the upper part. These soils are on nearly level to steep outwash plains. The average annual precipitation is about 16 inches and the average annual temperature is about 47 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Vitrandic Haploxerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Cheney ashy silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) ashy silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 11 inches thick)

A--10 to 14 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) ashy silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 6.7); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)

Bw--14 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) ashy silt loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 7.2); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)

Bt--22 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) ashy silt loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; very few faint discontinuous clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)

2C1--28 to 32 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel; few faint carbonate coatings on undersides of some gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)

2C2--32 to 60 inches; variegated extremely gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 70 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, dominantly basalt, few granite and quartzite fragments; few faint carbonate coatings on undersides of some gravel and cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Spokane County, Washington; about 1 mile east and 4 miles north of the town of Deep Creek; about 2100 feet north and 50 feet west of the southeast corner of section 36, T. 26 N., R. 40 E.; USGS Deep Creek, Wash. topographic quadrangle; (Latitude 47 degrees, 42 minutes, 25 seconds N. and Longitude 117 degrees, 41 minutes, 24 seconds W.) NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 10 to 20 inches
Moisture control section - Usually moist but are dry in all parts between depths of 8 and 25 inches for 70 to 95 consecutive days during the summer and autumn
Soil temperature - 47 to 52 degrees F
Depth to sandy skeletal material - 20 to 36 inches

Volcanic ash influence - 20 to 36 inches thick
Estimated properties of the volcanic ash influenced layers:
Bulk Density - 1.10 to 1.40 g/cm3
Volcanic glass content - 5 to 20 percent
Acid-oxalate extractable Al + Fe - 0.4 to 1.0 percent
15-bar water retention - 5 to 10 percent for air dried samples

Upper control section - less than 50 percent material coarser than fine sand and a weighted average of 0 to 30 percent rock fragments

A horizons
Value - 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma - 1 to 3, dry or moist
Texture - ashy silt loam, ashy very fine sandy loam, ashy loam
Clay content - 10 to 18 percent clay
Gravel content - 0 to 30 percent
Cobble content - 0 to 25 percent
Stone content - 0 to 10 percent
Total rock fragment content - 0 to 30 percent
Reaction - slightly acid to slightly alkaline

Bw & Bt horizons
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture - ashy loam or ashy silt loam
Clay content - 10 to 18 percent clay, with none to few faint discontinuous clay films
Gravel content - 0 to 30 percent
Cobble content - 0 to 25 percent
Stone content - 0 to 10 percent
Total rock fragment content - 0 to 30 percent
Reaction - neutral or slightly alkaline

2BC horizon present in some pedons

2C1 horizons (absent in some pedons)
Value - 5 or 6 dry
Chroma of 3 or 4, dry or moist
Gravel content - 25 to 75 percent
Cobble content - 0 to 50 percent
Total rock fragments - 35 to 90 percent
Reaction - slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

2C2 horizon (2Bq horizons in some pedons)
Texture - coarse sand, loamy coarse sand, or loamy sand
Gravel content - 25 to 75 percent
Cobble content - 0 to 50 percent
Stone content - 0 to 35 percent
Boulder content - 0 to 25 percent
Total rock fragments - 35 to 90 percent
Reaction - slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: This is the Haley series. Haley soils have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the particle-size control section, and are dry for 90 to 105 consecutive days.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cheney soils are on outwash plains and terraces at elevations of 1,800 to 3,000 feet. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The soils formed in sandy and gravelly glaciofluvial deposits mixed with loess and volcanic ash in the upper part. The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The average annual precipitation is 15 to 20 inches. The average annual temperature is 46 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 110 to 140 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alecanyon, Battleplain, Tucannon, and Uhlig soils. Alecanyon soils do not have a contrasting particle-size class and are sandy-skeletal throughout. Battleplain and Uhlig soils do not have contrasting textures and are on terraces or outwash plains. Tucannon soils have a lithic contact at a depth of 20 to 40 inches and are on benches and plateaus of channeled scabland.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability to a depth of about 32 inches and very rapid below.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for native range, small grains, peas, alfalfa and grass. Potential natural vegetation is Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, rose, threetip sagebrush,, and in places widely spaced ponderosa pine trees.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Washington; MLRA 9. Series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Spokane County, Washington, 1917.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 14 inches (Ap and A horizons)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 14 to 28 inches (Bw and Bt horizons)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (A, Bw, Bt, 2C1 and part of the 2C2 horizon)
Vitrandic feature - the zone from 0 to 28 inches.

The description reflects a change in classification as of 5/2000 from coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Haploxerolls to coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Vitrandic Haploxerolls based on revisions to Soil Taxonomy.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.