LOCATION COPSEY OR+CAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, magnesic, mesic Vertic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Copsey clay, grassland, on a 3 percent slope at 1,360 feet elevation. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A11--0 to 5 inches; black (10YR 2/1) clay, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; strong fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; many very fine roots; 10 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
A12--5 to 18 inches; black (10YR 2/1) clay, very dark gray (10YR 3/1) dry; weak coarse prismatic structure that parts to moderate coarse subangular blocky; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; common fine, medium and coarse roots; 10 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
AC1--18 to 28 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) gravelly clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) dry; common thin black (10YR 2/1) coatings on ped faces; fine and very fine distinct dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) mottles; weak medium subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few medium roots; 30 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
AC2--28 to 40 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) gravelly light clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) dry; many fine and very fine dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) mottles; massive; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few medium roots; 15 percent pebbles, few cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); gradual wavy boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
C--40 to 60 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) gravelly light clay, very dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; many fine distinct dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) mottles; massive; very hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; 20 percent pebbles, 5 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Josephine County, Oregon; 300 yards north of Colonial Valley golf course and 50 yards west of Horseshoe Drive; approximately 315 feet south and 1,675 feet east of the northwest corner of sec. 30, T. 35 S., R. 5 W., Willamette Meridian.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 47 to 56 degrees F. The soils are saturated 4 to 6 months of the year and remain moist below 20 inches nearly continuously unless drained. During the summer, the soil cracks at the surface and the cracks extend to 20 inches.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or N, value of 2 or 3 moist, 2, 3 or 4 dry and chroma of less than 1.5. The amount of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 30 percent serpentinite pebbles or cobbles.
The AC and C horizons have hue of 10YR, 2.5Y or N, value of 2 or 3 moist, 3 or 4 dry and chroma of 0, 1 or 2. Rock fragments average 15 to 25 percent pebbles and 5 to 10 percent cobbles. Rock fragments are mostly serpentinite. In some pedons mottles are lacking in the lower part of the A horizon and upper part of the C horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cove and Rail series in other families. Cove and Rail soils have montmorillonitic mineralogy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Copsey soils are in drainageways at elevations of 800 to 3,500 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 9 percent. These soils formed in alluvium weathered from serpentinite or peridotite. They have warm dry summers and cool moist winters with a mean annual precipitation of 20 to 60 inches. The mean annual temperature is 45 to 54 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 110 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Brockman, Cornutt and Dubakella series. These soils are in adjacent upland areas and lack aquic moisture regimes.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained; slow runoff; very slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for pasture and hay. The vegetation dominantly consists of white oak, Oregon ash, wild rose and grasses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Oregon and northern California. The series is inextensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Siskiyou County, California, 1978.