LOCATION CHORALMONT WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy-pumiceous, glassy, frigid Typic Vitrixerands
TYPICAL PEDON: Choralmont paragravelly ashy sandy loam - forested. (Color is for dry soil unless otherwise noted. All textures are apparent field textures.) Profile described on a 20 percent east-facing slope at an elevation of 2,360 feet.
Oi--0 to 1.5 inches; slightly decomposed organic matter.
C--1.5 to 2 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) ashy loamy fine sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and medium roots; common very fine irregular pores; 10 percent pumice; slightly acid (pH 6.2); abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 1 inch thick)
CB--2 to 3 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2) paragravelly ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and common fine roots; common fine irregular pores; 15 percent pumice; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
B/C--3 to 9 inches; light gray (10YR 7/2, C part) and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4, B part) paragravelly ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3, C part) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4, B part) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and medium roots; common fine irregular and tubular pores; 30 percent pumice; slightly acid (pH 6.4); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Bw1--9 to 17 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very paragravelly ashy sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common fine irregular and few fine tubular pores; 40 percent pumice; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 10 inches thick)
Bw2--17 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) very paragravelly ashy loamy sand, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and medium roots; many very fine and common medium irregular pores; 40 percent pumice; neutral (pH 6.6); clear wavy boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)
Bw3--28 to 33 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/4) and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) extremely paragravelly ashy loamy sand, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; many fine irregular pores; 60 percent pumice; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
C--33 to 48 inches; yellow (10YR 8/6) and very pale brown (10YR 8/2) paragravel, yellow (10YR 7/8) and very pale brown (10YR 8/2) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common medium and few very fine roots; many coarse irregular pores; iron stains (10YR 7/8) on pumice fragments; 90 percent pumice and 5 percent pebbles (pyroclastic); neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (15 to 16 inches thick)
2C--48 to 54 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) and pink (7.5YR 7/4) ashy loamy sand (sand size pumice), light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium, and few coarse roots; many fine irregular pores; iron stains (10YR 5/6) on sand grains; 2 percent pumice; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 6 inches thick)
3Bwb--54 to 60 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) and reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) fine sandy loam, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and medium roots; few fine irregular and tubular pores; few platelike dark masses; 2 percent pebbles; neutral (pH 6.8).
TYPE LOCATION: Chelan County, Washington; about 2 1/2 miles north of Fish Lake, 2,000 feet south and 900 feet east of the northwest corner section 11, T. 27N., R. 17E., W.M.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: These soils are usually moist, but are dry for an estimated 45 to 60 days following the summer solstice. Mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 20 inches is 43 to 46 degrees F. The upper 0 to 33 inches of the 0 to 40 inch particle-size control section has an estimated moist bulk density of 0.50 to 0.85 g/cc, volcanic glass content of 30 to 60 percent, acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half of the acid-oxalate extractable iron of 1.0 to 2.0 percent, 15-bar water retention of 5 to 12 percent, and weighted average pumice fragments of 39 percent. The lower part of the particle-size control section has an estimate moist bulk density of 0.45 to 0.60 g/cc, volcanic glass content of more than 60 percent, acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half of the acid-oxalate extractable iron of 1.0 to 2.0 percent, 15-bar water retention of 5 to 12 percent and 90 percent pumice fragments. Soil reaction is moderately acid through neutral throughout the profile.
The C horizon has value of 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist, and chroma of 1 through 3 dry or moist.
The Bw1 horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist, and chroma of 3 or 4 dry or moist. It is paragravelly ashy sandy loam or very paragravelly ashy sandy loam.
The Bw2 and Bw3 horizons have value of 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 8 moist, and chroma of 1 through 6 dry or moist. It is very paragravelly ashy loamy sand or extremely paragravelly ashy loamy sand.
The C horizons have value of 7 or 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist and chroma of 1 through 6 dry, 2 through 8 moist.
The 2C horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, value of 6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist and chroma of 1 through 6 dry, 1 through 8 moist. It is ashy loamy sandy, ashy sand, or ashy very coarse sand
The 3Bwb horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, 2.5Y, value of 5 through 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 2 through 6 moist or dry. It is gravelly fine sandy loam, cobbly sandy loam, very cobbly sandy loam, very cobbly very fine sandy loam, very stony sandy loam, very gravelly sandy loam or fine sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Palmich and Ramparter series. Palmich and Ramparter soils are dry for more than 60 consecutive days.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Choralmont soils are on mountainsides, toe slopes and terraces at an elevation of 2,000 to 5,900 feet. Slopes are 3 to 60 percent. These soils formed in volcanic ash and pumice over glacial drift. They are in a climate with warm, dry summers and cold, moist winters. The average annual precipitation is 35 to 50 inches. The mean January temperature is about 24 degrees F; mean July temperature is about 60 degrees F; and the mean annual temperature is about 42 degrees F. The frost-free season ranges from 90 to 120 days and the growing season at 28 degrees F. is 140 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Chiwaukum, Kladnick, Wedgemont and Wedge soils. Chiwaukum soils are medial over loamy-skeletal. Kladnick soils are sandy-skeletal. Wedge and Wedgemont are cryic.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to rapid runoff, moderate permeability in the upper part and very rapid in the lower part.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for woodland, wildlife habitat, watershed and recreation. Vegetation is Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, western hemlock, western white pine, lodgepole pine and grand fir, with an understory of pachystima, longtube twinflower, and common princes pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: East slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Chelan County; MLRA 6. Series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Chelan County, Washington, 1971.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are from the mineral surface to 3 inches (possibly Mt. St. Helens `W' ash), and a cambic horizon from 3 to 17 inches. Textures are too coarse to meet cambic from 17 to 48 inches. The upper 33 inches averages ashy-pumiceous with 39 percent pumice and the lower part is pumiceous. The soil would class as ashy-pumiceous over pumiceous if provide by soil taxonomy. Need to consider separation of series to a udic soil when associated with the western hemlock plant community.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Laboratory data available for this soil are 8753007009 (western hemlock-plant community) and 8753007007 (Grand fir-plant community).