LOCATION FREEWATER OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Fluventic
Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Freewater very cobbly loam, idle land. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 4 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) very cobbly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine roots; many fine tubular pores; 20 percent cobbles and 30 percent gravel with many cobbles on the surface; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)
A2--4 to 20 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) very gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine roots; common fine tubular pores; 10 percent cobbles and 45 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 16 inches thick)
2C1--20 to 41 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) extremely gravelly sand, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; 15 percent cobbles and 70 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 40 inches thick)
2C2--41 to 60 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) extremely gravelly sand, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; 25 percent cobbles and 60 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Umatilla County, Oregon; 200 feet west of Oregon highway 11 in the NE1/4 NW1/4 NW1/4 section 36, T. 6 N., R. 35 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to the 2C horizon ranges from 15 to 24 inches. The mollic epipedon ranges from 15 to 20 inches thick. The soils are usually moist but are dry for 70 to 80 consecutive days within the 12 to 35 inches moisture control section during the summer and autumn. The mean annual soil temperature is about 55 degrees F. The particle-size control section has 45 to 75 percent rock fragments. Organic matter content decreases to 1 percent within a depth of 20 inches.
The A horizon has chroma of 2 or 3 moist.
The 2C horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 dry. It is extremely gravelly or extremely cobbly sand or loamy sand and averages 65 to 85 percent rock fragments. Horizons with extremely gravelly or extremely cobbly sandy loam texture, 5 inches or less thick, are in the 2C horizon in some pedons.
In some pedons there is an AC horizon of extremely gravelly sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Camas and Voats series. Camas soils are dry for 45 to 70 consecutive days. Voats soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 47 to 53 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Freewater soils are on high stream terraces at elevations of 800 to 1400 feet. Slopes are 0 to 3 percent. Summers are hot and dry and winters are cool and moist. The mean annual temperature is 50 to 54 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 12 to 16 inches. The frost-free season is 145 to 195 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Onyx and Yakima soils on the river bottoms and the Anderly, Pilot Rock and Walla Walla soils on the uplands. Onyx soils are coarse-silty and have a mollic epipedon more than 20 inches thick. Yakima soils have constrasting textures and have a mollic epipedon more than 20 inches thick. Anderly, Pilot Rock and Walla Walla soils are coarse-silty.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained, slow runoff; moderate permeability in the A horizon and very rapid permeability in the 2C horizon.
USE AND VEGETATION: Freewater soils are used mainly for fruit tree production. Other uses include urban growth and small areas of pasture, alfalfa and small grains. Areas not under cultivation have cheatgrass, rye, shrubs and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils are in the Walla Walla Valley and along the Umatilla River and its tributaries. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Umatilla County, Oregon, 1985.