LOCATION HERSHAL OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Cumulic Endoaquolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Hershal silt loam - pasture, on a 1 percent slope at an elevation of 2,480 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 8 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine and medium granular structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 14 inches thick)
A2--8 to 16 inches; black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common roots; many very fine tubular pores; few fine distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron accumulations as masses; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
C1--16 to 24 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) very fine sandy loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; massive; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; many medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) iron accumulations as masses; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
2C2--24 to 60 inches; multicolored very gravelly sand; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 40 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles.
TYPE LOCATION: Baker County, Oregon; in Pine Valley, 60 feet north of Clear Creek and 40 feet east of road; 1,200 feet north and 2,800 feet east of SW corner, sec. 14, T. 8 S., R. 46 E. (Latitude 44 degrees, 51 minutes, 58 seconds N, Longitude 117 degrees, 03 minutes, 05 seconds W)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock is 60 inches or more. Depth to the contrasting textured material is 20 to 40 inches. The mean annual soil temperature is 47 to 51 degrees F. The upper part of the particle-size control section averages less than 15 percent sand coarser than very fine sand and 12 to 18 percent clay; the lower part averages 80 to 95 percent sand coarser than very fine sand. The thickness of the mollic epipedon is 24 to 36 inches.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry, and chroma of 1 or 2 moist and dry. It is silt loam with 12 to 18 percent clay. It has 0 to 10 percent gravel. It has few to many distinct redox concentrations. The soil reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y and may be gleyed. It has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 0 to 2 moist and dry. It is very fine sandy loam or silt loam with 0 to 10 percent gravel.
The 2C horizon is very gravelly loamy sand, gravelly sand or very gravelly sand with 20 to 60 percent gravel and 0 to 15 percent cobbles.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hershal soils are on flood plains. They formed in stratified mixed alluvium. Slopes are 0 to 2 percent. Elevations are 2,300 to 3,400 feet. The mean annual precipitation is 13 to 25 inches. The mean annual temperature is 45 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 100 to 130 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Catherine, Halfway, Langrell, Veazie, and Voats soils. Catherine soils are somewhat poorly drained and finer textured throughout. Halfway soils are moderately well drained and clayey throughout. Langrell soils are well drained and loamy-skeletal. Veazie and Voats soils are well drained and on flood plains.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained; permeability is moderate in the upper part of the profile and very rapid in the lower part. They are subject to rare or occasional and brief periods of flooding. A seasonal water table is as high as a depth of 6 to 18 inches from March through June.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used mainly for hay and pasture. Potential native vegetation includes sedges, rushes, bluegrass, tufted hairgrass, and willows along stream courses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Oregon, MLRA 9. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Baker County, Oregon; 1942.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
mollic epipedon - from the surface to 24 inches (A1, A2, and C1 horizon)
aquic feature - chroma of 2 and distinct mottles in the lower part of the mollic epipedon
cumulic feature - mollic epipedon that is 24 or more inches thick
particle-size control section - 10 to 40 inches
contrasting particle-size feature - 24 inches (2C2 horizon)