LOCATION HOWMEADOWS OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Vertic Epiaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Howmeadows silty clay loam - meadow, on 1 percent slope at an elevation of 3,610 feet. (When described on October 5, 1993 the soil was slightly moist above 21 inches and moist below. Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 7 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silty clay loam, gray (10YR 5/1) dry; strong coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and common very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 6.9); abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick)
Bt1--7 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) silty clay loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; few fine and very fine roots; few fine and very fine tubular pores; common fine faint yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of iron accumulation; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
2Bt2--10 to 21 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) silty clay, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) dry; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and very plastic; few very fine roots; few very fine tubular pores; few fine distinct yellowish brown masses of iron accumulation; continuous prominent clay films in pores and on ped faces; 5 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary.
2Bt3--21 to 26 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) gravelly clay, light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) dry; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, very firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on ped faces; 20 percent gravel; and 10 percent cobbles neutral (pH 7.1); abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of 2Bt horizon is 9 to 22 inches)
3R--26 inches; basalt
TYPE LOCATION: Wallowa County, Oregon, about 7 miles northwest of the town of Wallowa; 1,760 feet east and 600 feet south of the northwest corner of section 18, T. 2 N., R. 42 E. (Latitude 45 degrees, 39 minutes, 38 seconds N., Longitude 117 degrees, 37 minutes, 03 seconds W.)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 44 to 47 degrees F. Depth to bedrock is 20 to 40 inches. Aquic conditions are present within 6 and 12 inches from the soil surface as indicated by redoximorphic concentrations and depletions. The particle size control section averages 35 to 50 percent clay with 5 to 35 percent rock fragments. The soil reaction is slightly acid or neutral throughout. The upper portion of the profile is 10YR and the lower part is 2.5Y.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 1 or 2 moist and dry. It has 0 to 5 percent gravel.
The Bt horizon has value of 3 to 5 moist, 4 to 7 dry, and chroma of 2 to 4 moist and dry. The soil texture is silty clay loam or clay with 0 to 10 percent gravel. It has 35 to 45 percent clay. It has common to many redox concentrations.
The 2Bt horizon has value of 3 to 5 moist, 3 to 7 dry, and chroma of 2 to 4 moist and dry. The soil texture is clay loam, silty clay, or clay with 0 to 30 percent cobbles and 5 to 25 percent gravel. It has 35 to 50 percent clay.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. The Brickton series have a similar chromic vertic subgroup classification. Brickton soils have secondary carbonates at a depth of 20 to 40 inches and have 0 to 3 percent 5mm size gravel throughout.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Howmeadows soils are in narrow drainageways which dissect forested plateaus or structural benches. Elevation is 3,400 to 4,500 feet. Slope is 0 to 3 percent. The soils formed in loess mixed with minor amounts of volcanic ash overlying clayey colluvium and residuum derived from basalt. The climate is characterized by cold wet winters and hot dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 17 to 30 inches. The mean annual temperature is 41 to 45 degrees F. The frost-free period is 70 to 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cowsly, Sherod, Tamarackcanyon, Threebuck, Tolo, and Wilkins soils. Cowsly soils are on plateaus, moderately well drained, and are greater than 40 inches to bedrock. Sherod soils are in drainageways, are loamy-skeletal, and 10 to 20 inches deep to bedrock. Tamarackcanyon, Threebuck, and Tolo soils are on adjacent north-facing side slopes. Tamarackcanyon soils are clayey-skeletal. Threebuck soils are medial over clayey-skeletal and 40 to 60 inches to bedrock. Tolo soils are ashy over loamy and greater than 60 inches to bedrock. Wilkins soils are in broad meadows and are greater than 60 inches to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat poorly drained; very slow permeability; a perched water table is present at a depth of 0.5 to 1.0 feet from the soil surface from March through June.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used primarily for livestock grazing. Native vegetation is tufted hairgrass, sedge, rushes, bluegrass, and willow.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Plateaus of northeastern Oregon; MLRA 9. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wallowa County, Oregon, 1990.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - surface to 7 inches but meets criteria for mollic epipedon except for thickness (A horizon)
Argillic horizon - from 7 to 26 inches (Bt1, 2Bt2, and 2Bt3 horizons)
Particle size control section - from 7 to 26 inches (Bt1, 2Bt2, and 2Bt3 horizons)
Vertic feature - from 10 to 26 inches having an assumed linear extensibility of 6.0 cm or more.
Aquandic feature - from surface to 7 inches (A horizon) having 0.5 percent acid oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half iron and 9 percent volcanic glass.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Soils samples were submitted to NSSL in Lincoln on 12/93 for lab analysis. Reference samples are labeled as follows: S 93 OR 063 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3.