LOCATION GHOST WA

Established Series
IRD. PHR/TMR/MPR
07/2017

GHOST SERIES

Landscape--Cascade Mountains
Landform--depressions and swales of terraces and cirques
Slope--0 to 10 percent
Parent material--decomposing organic material and bands of volcanic ash
Mean annual precipitation--about 2000 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 5 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--very poorly drained
Soil temperature regime--aquic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic Fluvaquentic Cryosaprists

TYPICAL PEDON: Ghost muck in a depression on a south-facing, 0-percent slope of a terrace at an elevation of 675 m (When described on October 20, 2011, the soil was wet throughout.)

Oa1--0 to 38 cm; muck, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; many very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine irregular pores; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt smooth boundary

Oa2--38 to 90 cm; muck, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; many very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine irregular pores; strongly acid (pH 5.4); gradual wavy boundary

Oa3--90 to 110 cm; muck, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; many very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine irregular pores; 1 percent fine distinct greenish gray (10Y 5/1) masses of reduced iron with sharp boundaries in matrix; strongly acid (pH 5.5); abrupt smooth boundary

Bg1--110 to 120 cm; ashy loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and few fine roots; few very fine and fine interstitial pores; 10 percent fine distinct dark gray (10YR 4/1) masses of reduced iron with clear boundaries in matrix; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt smooth boundary

O'a1--120 to 130 cm; muck, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; many very fine and common fine roots; few very fine and fine irregular pores; 10 percent fine distinct greenish gray (10Y 5/1) masses of reduced iron with clear boundaries in matrix; moderately acid (pH 5.6); gradual wavy boundary

O'a2--130 to 145 cm; muck, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; many very fine and common fine roots; few very fine and fine irregular pores; 20 percent coarse distinct greenish gray (5GY 6/1) masses of reduced iron with clear boundaries in matrix; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt smooth boundary

B'g--145 to 150 cm; ashy loamy coarse sand, light greenish gray (5GY 8/1) dry, greenish gray (5GY 6/1) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine roots; few very fine and fine interstitial pores; 10 percent pumice paragravel; moderately acid (pH 5.7)

TYPE LOCATION: Pierce County, Washington, southwest of Tumtum Peak, between Kautz and Tahoma Creeks, about 3 km east of the Nisqually Entrance Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park; about 225 m north and 190 m west of the southeast corner of section 35, T. 15 N., R. 7 E., Willamette Meridian; Sawtooth Ridge, Washington, U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle; latitude 46.737748 degrees north, longitude -121.879029 degrees west, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--3 to 8 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--saturated more than 30 days
Depth to mineral soil material--30 to 125 cm

Oa1 horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 to 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist or dry
Fiber content--less than one-third unrubbed, less than one-sixth rubbed
Coarse woody fragment content--0 to 15 percent
Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
Thickness--5 to 40 cm

Oa2 and Oa3 horizons
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 to 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist or dry
Fiber content--less than one-third unrubbed, less than one-sixth rubbed
Total coarse woody fragment content--0 to 20 percent
Reaction--5.0 to 6.0
Combined thickness--25 to 85 cm

Bg horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 to 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy loamy sand, ashy sandy loam, ashy coarse sandy loam
Clay content--1 to 10 percent
Pararock fragment content--0 to 20 percent pumice paragravel
Volcanic glass content--50 to 75 percent
Ammonium oxalate Al plus 1/2 Fe--greater than 0.4 percent
Reaction--5.0 to 6.0
Thickness--5 to 20 cm

O'a1 and O'a2 horizons
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--2 to 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma--1 to 3 moist or dry
Fiber content--less than one-third unrubbed, less than one-sixth rubbed
Total coarse woody fragment content--0 to 20 percent
Reaction--5.0 to 6.0
Combined thickness--20 to 40 cm

B'g horizon
Hue--5GY, 10Y, 2.5Y
Value--4 to 6 moist, 6 to 8 dry
Chroma--1 to 4 moist or dry
Fine-earth texture--ashy loamy coarse sand, ashy loamy sand, ashy sandy loam
Clay content--1 to 10 percent
Volcanic glass content--50 to 75 percent
Ammonium oxalate Al plus 1/2 Fe--greater than 0.4 percent
Pararock fragment content--0 to 30 percent pumice paragravel
Reaction--5.0 to 6.0

COMPETING SERIES:
Anipash--lower horizons formed in alluvium derived from basalt; no andic soil properties below a depth of 100 cm
Chichantna, Tyonek--fibric and hemic material in surface tier

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--650 to 2000 m
Climate--cool, dry summers; cold, wet winters
Mean annual precipitation--1,600 to 3,000 mm
Mean annual air temperature--0 to 7 degrees C
Frost-free period--30 to 90 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Frogheaven--andic soil properties throughout profile; saturated in normal years below a depth of 20 cm in June through September; mineral soil profile; in similar landform positions
Laughingwater, Unicornpeak--aquic conditions between depths of 50 and 75 cm from the mineral soil surface; in similar landform positions; forested plant communities
Mountwow--aquic conditions with an upper limit of 25 cm from the mineral soil surface; mineral soil profile; in similar landform positions
Vantrump--aquic conditions with an upper limit of 25 cm from the mineral soil surface; in similar landform positions; forested plant communities
Williwakas--andic soil properties throughout profile; saturated in normal years below a depth of 20 cm in June through September; in similar landform positions; no accumulations of organic material

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--very poorly drained
Saturation in normal years--within 15 cm of soil surface in all months
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--high in O horizon, very high in B horizon

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, nonforested wetland
Potential natural vegetation--bluejoint, black alpine sedge, white marsh marigold, mountain sedge, tufted hairgrass, subalpine spirea, willows

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Cascade Mountains, Washington; MLRA 3; small extent

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington; 2014; name from Ghost Lake in Mount Rainier National Park

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from the surface to a depth of 130 cm
*Aquic conditions--zone from the surface to a depth of 150 cm
*Sapric soil material--zone from the surface to a depth of 110 cm and from 120 to 145 cm
*Redoximorphic iron depletions with chroma of 2 or less--zone from 90 to 145 cm
*Reduced matrix--zone from 145 to 150 cm
*Volcanic glass--zone from 110 to 120 cm and from 145 to 150 cm
*Distinguishable tephra layers--Mount St. Helens Wn tephra (Bg horizon), Mount St. Helens Yn tephra (B'g horizon)

03/2017--This official series description was updated according to SSR1 Technical Note 11--Content and Format of Official Series Descriptions (revised 12/2015). Most of the changes were in formatting; no major technical changes were made.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.