LOCATION HINKER                  WA

Established Series
Rev. AG-RJE
01/2023

HINKER SERIES

The Hinker series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils formed in volcanic ash, loess, and colluvium and slope alluvium from phyllite. Hinker soils are on glacially modified mountain shoulder slopes. Slopes are 5 to 60 percent. The average annual precipitation is about 95 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 40 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial-skeletal, ferrihydritic Andic Humicryods

TYPICAL PEDON: Hinker very channery medial silt loam - on a 35 percent southwest facing concave slope in a clearcut at 4,100 feet elevation. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated. All textures are apparent field textures)

Oi--0 to 3 inches; slightly decomposed needles, leaves, and twigs.

Oa--3 to 15 inches; decomposed organic mat; many very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots.

E1--15 to 19 inches; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) very channery medial silt loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) dry; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; 40 percent channers and 5 percent flagstones; extremely acid (pH 4.4); clear smooth boundary.

E2--19 to 21 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) very channery medial silt loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) dry; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; 40 percent channers and 5 percent flagstones; NaF pH 9.0; extremely acid (pH 4.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the E horizon is 3 to 6 inches)

Bhs1--21 to 26 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) very channery medial silt loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry; organic stains of dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist and dry on 60 percent of faces of peds; moderate very coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, weakly smeary; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; 40 percent channers; NaF pH 9.6; extremely acid (pH 4.0); clear irregular boundary. (5 to 8 inches thick)

Bhs2--26 to 30 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) very channery medial loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; organic stains of dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2), dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) dry on 40 percent of faces of peds; moderate very coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, weakly smeary; few very fine and fine roots; 35 percent channers; NaF pH 12.0; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear irregular boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)

Bhs3--30 to 36 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very channery medial silt loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; organic stains of very dusky red (2.5YR 2/2), dusky red (2.5YR 3/2) dry on 30 percent of faces of peds; moderate very coarse subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, weakly smeary; few very fine and fine roots that pan out at unfractured bedrock; many very fine irregular pores; 50 percent channers; NaF pH 11.5; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); abrupt wavy boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)

2R--36 inches; unweathered phyllite.

TYPE LOCATION: Whatcom County, Washington; about 8 miles southeast of Van Zandt; 1,200 feet north and 750 feet west of the southeast corner of sec. 8, T. 37 N., R. 6 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Mean annual soil temperature is 38 to 40 degrees F. Depth to a lithic contact with phyllite and thickness of volcanic ash influence is 20 to 40 inches. By weighted average, the control section has 25 to 45 percent unweathered phyllite channers, 15 to 35 percent weathered phyllite channers and 10 to 25 percent hard phyllite flagstones.

The E horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 4 through 6 moist, 5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry. Reaction is extremely acid or strongly acid.

The Bhs horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 3 through 5 moist; 4 through 6 dry, and chroma of 4 through 6 moist, 4 through 8 dry. It has 20 to 40 percent hard channers, 10 to 30 percent soft channers and 10 to 25 percent hard cobbles. The fine earth fraction is loam or silt loam. Reaction is extremely acid, very strongly acid, or strongly acid. Some pedons have a BC or C horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Deming, Passage, Karta, Kupreanof, Saar, Shuksan, and Thader series and the similar Haywire, Nagrom, Nimue, and Playco series. Deming and Kupreanof soils are deep. Passage soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 40 to 43 degrees F and a solum 7 to 22 inches thick. Haywire, Nagrom, Nimue, and Playco soils have more than 5 times as much carbon as free iron in the upper part of the spodic horizon. Karta, Saar, and Shuksan soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact. Thader soils are 35 to 70 percent olivine basalt or olivine andesite in the particle-size control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Hinker soils are on glacially modified mountain shoulder slopes at elevations of 3,500 to 4,200 feet. Slopes are 5 to 60 percent. The soils formed in volcanic ash, loess, colluvium, and slope alluvium from phyllite. Hinker soils are in a marine climate with cool, moist summers and cold, wet winters. Snow cover lasts from November through June. Mean annual precipitation is 85 to 100 inches. Mean January temperature is about 28 degrees F; mean July temperature is about 56 degrees F; and the mean annual temperature is about 40 degrees F. The frost-free season is about 85 to 100 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Saar soils and the Clendenen, Crinker, Edfro, Kindy, and Springsteen soils. Clendenen soils are shallow to a paralithic contact with dense compact glacial till. Crinker, Kindy, and Springsteen soils have less than 6 percent organic carbon in the upper 10 centimeters of the spodic horizon. Also, Kindy soils are moderately deep to a paralithic contact with dense compact glacial till. Edfro soils are shallow and serpentinitic.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used for timber production, watershed, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Native vegetation is Pacific silver fir, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and Alaska-cedar with an understory of blue-leaved huckleberry, bunchberry dogwood, deerfern, western brackenfern, and salmonberry.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Washington; MLRA 3. The series is of small extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Whatcom County, 1983.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Albic horizon from 15 to 21 inches
Spodic horizon from 4 to 21 inches
Lithic contact at 21 inches.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data are available on this pedon: Sample No. S81-WA073-16. The data supports the classification change.

Depths to diagnostic horizons and features are measured from the top of the first mineral layer.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.