LOCATION DECKERVILLE WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, isotic over mixed, nonacid, mesic Aquandic Humaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Deckerville gravelly loam.
A1--0 to 6 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) gravelly loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; strong medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; strongly acid (pH 5.2); gradual smooth boundary (5 to 10 inches thick)
A2--6 to 16 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) gravelly clay loam, black (10YR 2/1) moist; strong fine and medium granular structure; very hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; moderately acid (pH 5.6); gradual smooth boundary. (9 to 15 inches thick)
AC--16 to 26 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2), gravelly loam very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; common gray and yellowish brown mottles; weak fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; moderately acid (pH 6.0); abrupt wavy boundary (10 to 15 inches thick)
2C--26 to 60 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly loamy coarse sand, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; many gray and strong brown mottles; massive; soft, very friable nonsticky and nonplastic; slightly acid (pH 6.1).
TYPE LOCATION: Mason County Washington about 2 miles south of Deckerville in Sec 29, T. 20 N., R. 6 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 50 to 54 degrees F. The umbric epipedon is 24 to 36 inches and is the same as the depth to the 2C horizon. Coarse fragments average from 5 to 35 percent in the upper part of the particle size control section and from 35 to 70 percent in the lower part.
The A horizon has value of 3 or 4 dry and chroma of 1 or 2 moist and dry. it is moderately acid or strongly acid.
The AC horizon has value of 3 or 4 dry and chroma of 1 or 2 moist and dry. Texture is gravelly loam, loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, or gravelly clay loam. It is slightly acid or moderately acid.
The 2C horizon has value of 4 to 6 dry, 3 to 5 moist and chroma of 1 to 4 moist and dry and is mottled. Texture is very gravelly loamy coarse sand, extremely gravelly coarse sand or very gravelly coarse sand. it is slightly acid or moderately acid.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the similar Koch series. Koch soils are coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy -skeletal.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Deckerville soils are in swales, slight depressions, and along waterways on glacial outwash terraces. These soils formed in recent alluvium and glacial outwash. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations range from sea level to 1,000 feet. The climate is characterized by cool, wet winters and cool, relatively dry summers. The average annual precipitation is 70 to 100 inches. The mean January temperature is about 38 degrees F. and the mean July temperature is about 64 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is about 50 degrees F. The frost-free season is 165 to 195 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Solduc and Hoquiam soils. These soils have a udic moisture regime. In addition Solduc soils are medial-skeletal and Hoquiam soils are medial.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained slow to ponded runoff. Permeability is moderate in the solum and rapid in the substratum. An apparent water table is as high as the surface to 1 foot below the surface at times from November to June unless the soil is drained.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for woodland, cropland and pasture. Oats and grass-legume hay are common crops. Native vegetation is western redcedar, western hemlock and red alder with an understory of spirea, sedge, rush, western swordfern, vine maple, trailing blackberry, salmonberry and willow.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Olympic rain forest in western Washington. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mason County Washington 1953.
REMARKS: Classification only changed 4/94 because of recent amendments to Soil Taxonomy. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are an umbric epipedon from the surface to 26 inches and an abrupt change to sandy-skeletal material at 26 inches. The profile is assumed to have an irregular decrease in organic carbon with depth. This draft reflects an update in format only of a 1955 description.