LOCATION CLAYTON                 WA

Established Series
Rev. NCD/SHB/EMM
12/2022

CLAYTON SERIES

The Clayton series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in mixed glaciofluvial deposits mixed with loess and volcanic ash in the upper part. Clayton soils are on terraces and have slopes of 0 to 25 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 21 inches and the average annual temperature is about 47 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, mesic Vitrandic Haploxerepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Clayton ashy fine sandy loam, cultivated; on a 3 percent slope at an elevation of 2,100 feet.. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) When described on September 8, 1999 the soil was dry to 5 inches, slightly moist to 15 inches and moist to 62 inches.

Ap1--0 to 5 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) ashy fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, and nonplastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 1 percent gravel; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 9 in thick)

Ap2--5 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) ashy fine sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, and nonplastic; few fine, medium and common very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; 1 percent gravel; moderately acid (pH 5.8); abrupt wavy boundary.(0 to 4 in thick)

E&Bt1--8 to 29 inches; 95 percent pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam (E part ) brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, and nonplastic; 5 percent continuous lamellae, brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy loam (Bt part), brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine, common very fine and medium roots; few fine and common very fine tubular pores; 1 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.3); abrupt wavy boundary.

E&Bt2--29 to 42 inches; 85 percent pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam (E part), brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, and nonplastic; 15 percent continuous lamellae, brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy loam (Bt part), brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure; moderately hard, friable; nonsticky, and nonplastic; 25 percent continuous faint clay bridging between sand grains; few very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots; common very fine tubular and interstitial pores; 2 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt wavy boundary.

E&Bt3--42 to 52 inches; 80 percent pale brown (10YR 6/3) loamy sand (E part), brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky, and nonplastic; 20 percent continuous lamellae, brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy loam (Bt part), brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate very thick platy structure; moderately hard, friable, nonsticky, and nonplastic; 15 percent continuous faint clay bridging between sand grains; few very fine, fine, and medium roots; common very fine interstitial and tubular pores; 10 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.7); abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the E&Bt horizon is 30 to 50 inches thick)

C--52 to 62 inches; variegated loamy fine sand,; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine interstitial pores; 1 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Spokane County, Washington; About 7.5 miles southeast of Deer Park; about 425 feet west and 1,350 feet north of the southeast corner of Section 7, Township 27 N, Range 43 E. USGS Dartford Quad; (Latitude 47 degrees, 50 minutes, 56.73 seconds N and Longitude 117 degrees, 24 minutes, 42.88 seconds W.) NAD83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - usually moist, but are dry in all parts between depths of 8 and 24 inches for 60 to 90 consecutive days in the summer and autumn.
Average annual soil temperature - 48 to 52 degrees F.
Soil reaction - moderately acid to neutral.
Particle-size control section - 4 to 12 percent clay and more than 15 percent particles coarser than very fine sand.
Depth to the base of the E&Bt horizon is 30 inches or more.
Depth to loamy fine sand or loamy sand texture is at least 25 inches and commonly is 30 inches or more.
All horizons between a depth of 10 to 30 inches have a base saturation (ammonium acetate) of more than 60 percent.
Oi and Oe horizons present in un-cultivated areas - 1 to 3 inches thick.

Estimated properties of the volcanic ash influenced layer:
Volcanic ash influence - 7 to 20 inches thick in surface layers
Moist bulk density - 1.00 to 1.20 g/cc
Volcanic glass content - 5 to 20 percent
Acid-oxlate extractable Al+Fe - 0.4 to 1.0 percent
15 bar water retention (air dry) - 5 to 10 percent
Clay content - 4 to 10 percent

Ap horizon
Value - 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 2 or 3 dry or moist and meets mollic criteria in the top 4 to 9 inches
Gravel content - 0 to 10 percent
Clay content - 4 to 10 percent
Structure - weak fine granular

A horizon (present in some pedons)
Hue - 10YR or 7.5YR
Chroma - 2 to 4 dry or moist
Gravel content - 0 to 10 percent

Bw horizon (present in some pedons)
Hue - 10YR or 7.5YR
Value - 4 to 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4 dry or moist
Texture - fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam; ashy in upper part in some pedons
Gravel content - 0 to 10 percent
Structure - weak fine or weak medium subangular blocky

E&Bt horizon
E part
Hue - 2.5Y or 10YR
Value - 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture - fine sandy loam, sandy loam in the upper part; loamy fine sand, or loamy sand in the lower part
Gravel content - 0 to 10 percent
Cobble content - 0 to 5 percent
Clay content - 2 to 6 percent
Total rock fragment content - 0 to 15 percent
B part
Hue - 7.5YR or 10YR
Value - 4 or 5 dry
Chroma - 3 or 4 moist
Texture - fine sandy loam, sandy loam or loam
Lamellae - 1/16 to 1 inches thick; combined thickness of the inch or greater bands is less than 6 inches - does meet criteria for an agrillic horizon.
Clay content - 4 to 12 percent

C horizon (absent in some pedons)
Hue - variegated or 10YR
Value - 5 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4, dry or moist
Texture - loamy fine sand, loamy sand or sand
Gravel content - 0 to 15 percent
Cobble content - 0 to 5 percent
Total rock fragment content - 0 to 20 percent
Clay content - 0 to 3 percent
Reaction - slightly acid or neutral

Some pedons have a separate E horizon above the E&Bt horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Kartar and Nevat series. The Bestrom, Cassolary, Hudnut, Koerling, Koseth, and Scala series have similar classification with mixed mineralogy. Kartar soils have 15 to 35 percent rock fragments (weighted average in the control section) and do not have lamellae. Nevat soils are 40 to 60 inches to a lithic contact and are dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days. Bestrom soils are 20 to 40 inches to a lithic contact. Cassolary soils have aquic conditions with chroma of 2 and redox concentrations within 20 inches and do not have lamellae. Hudnut soils do not have E&Bt horizons. Koerling soils have 2Bk horizons (calcareous lake sediments) with sandy loam to silty clay loam textures at a depth of 24 to 40 inches. Koseth soils have calcareous loamy-skeletal glacial till in the lower 2C horizon and do not have lamellae. Scala soils have Bw horizons.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Clayton soils are on terraces at elevations of 1,800 to 2,400 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 25 percent. These soils formed in moderately coarse mixed glaciofluvial deposits mixed with loess and volcanic ash in the upper part. The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Average January temperature is 24 degrees F, average July temperature is 68 degrees F. The average annual temperature is 46to 50 degrees F. The average annual precipitation is 17 to 22 inches. The frost-free period is 100 to 130 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Battleplain, Hagen and Phoebe soils. Battleplain soils are on terraces, have a mollic epipedon and are sandy in the particle-size control section. Hagen soils are on terraces, have an ochric epipedon and are sandy in the particle-size control section. Phoebe soils are on terraces and have a pachic epipedon.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for crop production, homesites, woodland, and wildlife habitat. Small grains, alfalfa and grass are the principal crops. Some areas are used for hay and pasture. Potential natural vegetation is ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine , with an understory of pinegrass, common snowberry, Oregon-grape, strawberry, rose, white spirea, common yarrow and kinnikinnick.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Washington and possibly northern Idaho; MLRA 43A, 44A. The series is moderate in extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Stevens County, Washington, 1913.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 8 inches (Ap1 and Ap2 horizons)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 8 to 52 inches (Bt part of the E and Bt horizons)
Vitrandic feature - the zone from 0to 8 inches (Ap1 and Ap2 horizons)
Lamellae - the zone from 8 to 62 inches (E&Bt horizons)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (E&Bt1 horizon and part of theE&Bt2 horizons)

The classification of this series has been revised as of 5/2000 from coarse-loamy, mixed, mesic Vitrandic Xerochrepts to coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Vitrandic Haploxerepts based on revision to Soil Taxonomy.

Lab data for Clayton series, pedon numbers 40A1033 and 40A1034 used to confirm base saturation of greater than 60 percent. Ongoing soil temperature data is being collected for this series to confirm soil temperature regime for Spokane County. Based on vegetation, this area is borderline mesic and possibly frigid.

Mineralogy changed to isotic 10/2001.

The 10/2003 update reflects a move in the type location to a mesic location in Spokane County. The type location in Stevens county is frigid and will be correlated to the Stapaloop series.

Investigation of Clayton mapped in Pend Oreille County, WA.,(SSA's WA651 and perhaps the Panhandle NF 752) is needed to evaluate the mesic/frigid soil temperature regime break.

The 9/2009 revision reflects an update to the use and vegetation section to better represent a mesic plant community.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.