LOCATION CROCKIES                OR

Tentative Series
Rev. ARR/TM/JBF
03/2012

CROCKIES SERIES

The Crockies series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in mixed volcanic ash and loess over residuum from basalt. Crockies soils are on lava plateaus. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 180 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 8 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Durinodic Haplocambids

TYPICAL PEDON: Crockies ashy very fine sandy loam, rangeland at an elevation of 1,263 meters. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.) The soil surface is partly covered by 20 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles and 1 percent stones.

A--0 to 12 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) ashy very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate coarse platy structure; soft, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine vesicular pores; 10 percent basalt gravel and 2 percent basalt cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 15 cm thick)

Bw1--12 to 23 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) ashy very fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate thin platy structure; soft, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine tubular pores; 5 percent basalt gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the Bw1 and Bw2 horizons is 15 to 40 cm thick)

Bw2--23 to 34 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) ashy very fine sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine, fine and medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; 5 percent basalt gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary.

Bkq1--34 to 46 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) paragravelly ashy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium platy structure; slightly hard, firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine roots; many fine interstitial pores; 2 percent fine masses of oxidized iron and 2 percent fine manganese masses; 8 percent basalt gravel; 40 percent moderately cemented durinodes; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 25 cm thick)

Bkq2--46 to 80 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly ashy fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; 18 percent basalt gravel; 5 percent weakly cemented durinodes; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear smooth boundary. (combined thickness of the Bkq2 and Bkq3 horizons is 50 to 85 cm)

Bkq3--80 to 115 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) gravelly ashy fine sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, firm, nonsticky, nonplastic; 20 percent basalt gravel; 5 percent weakly cemented durinodes; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt smooth boundary.

R--115 to 125 cm; indurated basalt

TYPE LOCATION: Malheur County, Oregon; Approximately 10 miles northwest of Burns Juction, Oregon. UTM 423567 easting and 4753686 meters northing, zone 11 NAD83 on the USGS Palomino Lake 7.5 minute quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 55 minutes 55.00 seconds north and longitude 117 degrees 56 minutes 12.00 seconds west.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually dry, moist for short periods in winter and spring, dry summer and fall; typic aridic soil moisture regime.
Mean annual soil temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C.
Depth to base of cambic horizon: 25 to 50 cm.
Depth to horizon with durinodes: 25 to 50 cm.
Depth to lithic contact: 100 to 150 cm.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 8 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments : Averages 5 to 20 percent gravel; lithology of fragments is basalt.

A horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma: 2 to 4, dry or moist.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 25 to 50 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction.

Bw horizons
Value: 4 to 6 dry; 3 to 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 through 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy fine sandy loam, ashy loam, ashy very fine sandy loam.
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 30 percent gravel.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 5 to 25 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction.

Bkq1 horizon
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy fine ashy sandy loam, ashy loam.
Clay content: 18 to 28 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent gravel.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline through strongly alkaline.
Durinodes: 20 to 60 percent moderately cemented.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 5 to 25 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction.

Bkq2 and Bkq3 horizons
Value: 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist.
Chroma: 2 to 6, dry or moist.
Texture: Ashy very fine sandy loam, ashy loam.
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent.
Rock fragments: 5 to 35 percent gravel.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline through very strongly alkaline.
Durinodes: 5 to 10 percent moderately cemented.
Volcanic glass: Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 5 to 25 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Broyles, Gardenvalley, Keefa, Strike, and Weso soils. All these soils are greater than 152 cm to bedrock.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Crockies soils are on lava plateaus in small depressions. These soils formed in mixed volcanic ash and loess over residuum weathered from basalt. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. Elevations are 1,200 to 1,280 meters. The climate is arid and characterized by cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 150 to 250 mm, the mean annual temperature is 7 to 10 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 90 to 110 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Igert soils. Igert soils are less than 100 cm to bedrock.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; moderate runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Crockies soils are used for livestock grazing. The vegetation is shadscale, bud sagebrush and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeast Oregon; the soil is of small extent. MLRA 24.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES PROPOSED: Malheur County, Oregon, Southern Part, 2008.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 18 cm (A and part of the Bw1 horizons).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 12 to 34 cm (Bw1 and Bw2 horizons).
Durinodes - The zone from 34 to 115 cm (Bkq1, Bkq2, Bkq3 horizons)
Ashy textures Volcanic glass is estimated to range from 25 to 50 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction in the zone from 0 to 12 cm (A horizon) and is estimated to range from 5 to 25 percent of the 0.02 to 2 mm fraction in the zone from 12 to 115 cm (Bw1, Bw2, Bkq1, Bkq2, and Bkq3 horizons).
Particle-size control section The zone from 25 to 100 cm. (Bw2, Bkq1, Bkq2, and Bkq3 horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.