LOCATION IPSUT WA
Established Series
IRD. TMR/MPR
07/2017
IPSUT SERIES
Landscape--Cascade Mountains
Landform--mountains, cirque valley walls, shoulders, ridges
Slope--15 to 100 percent
Parent material--volcanic ash over colluvium derived from andesite
Mean annual precipitation--about 2200 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 3 degrees C
Depth class--shallow
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial, glassy Lithic Haplocryods
TYPICAL PEDON: Ipsut medial loamy sand on a forested, west-facing, 25-percent slope of a valley wall at an elevation of 1400 m (When described on August 14, 2012, the soil was slightly moist throughout.)
Oi--0 to 2 cm; slightly decomposed plant material from deciduous shrubs, conifer needles, and twigs; many fine interstitial pores; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt wavy boundary
Oe--2 to 5 cm; moderately decomposed plant material; few very fine to medium roots; many fine interstitial pores; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt wavy boundary
E--5 to 8 cm; medial loamy sand, gray (7.5YR 6/1) dry, dark gray (7.5YR 4/1) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel; very strongly acid (pH 4.7); abrupt wavy boundary
Bs1--8 to 18 cm; paragravelly medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium and coarse roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 10 percent fine pumice paragravel and 10 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); abrupt irregular boundary
Bs2--18 to 30 cm; medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel and 5 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary
Bs3--30 to 40 cm; medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel and 5 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt irregular boundary.
2R--40 cm; fractured andesite
TYPE LOCATION: Pierce County, Washington, about 1 km north of Cayuse Pass, just upslope and east of Washington State Route 410 in Mount Rainier National Park; about 590 m north and 775 m west of the southeast corner of section 15, T. 16 N., R. 10 E., Willamette Meridian; White River Park, Washington, U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle; latitude 46.875678 degrees north, longitude -121.539504 degrees west, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--3 to 6 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October
Depth to lithic contact--25 to 50 cm (shallow)
Volcanic glass content--50 to 75 percent in all mineral horizons
Ammonium oxalate Al plus 1/2 Fe--greater than 0.5 percent in spodic horizon
Particle-size control section
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock and rock fragment content--5 to 35 percent total, including 0 to 35 percent pumice paragravel typically throughout the profile and 0 to 10 percent andesite gravel and 0 to 10 percent andesite cobbles in the lower part of the profile
Oi horizon, and Oe horizon (where present)
*In lieu of texture--slightly decomposed plant material, moderately decomposed plant material
*Combined thickness--2 to 8 cm
E horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
*Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
*Chroma--1 or 2 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial loamy sand, medial sandy loam
*Clay content--1 to 5 percent
*Pararock fragment content--0 to 10 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
*Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
*Thickness--3 to 10 cm
Bs1 horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 5YR
*Value--2.5 to 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial coarse sandy loam, medial fine sandy loam
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Rock fragment content--5 to 35 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
*Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
*Thickness--10 to 20 cm
Bs2 horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 5YR
*Value--3 or 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial loamy sand, medial coarse sandy loam
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock fragment content--5 to 35 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
*Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
*Thickness--10 to 20 cm
Bs3 horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 5YR
*Value--3 or 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial coarse sandy loam, medial fine sandy loam
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock and rock fragment content--5 to 35 percent total, including 5 to 25 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel, 0 to 10 percent fine to coarse subangular andesite gravel, and 0 to 5 percent subangular andesite cobbles
*Reaction--5.1 to 6.0
*Thickness--10 to 20 cm
COMPETING SERIES: None
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--1200 to 2000 m
Climate--cool, dry summers; cold, wet winters
Mean annual precipitation--1700 to 2800 mm
Mean annual air temperature--2 to 5 degrees C
Frost-free period--30 to 60 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Owyhigh--50 to 100 cm deep to lithic contact (moderately deep), in similar landform positions
Tipsoo--greater than 150 cm deep to lithic contact (very deep), in similar landform positions
Mysticlake--aquic conditions with an upper limit of 25 cm from the soil surface, in gentler sloping positions that receive runoff from upslope areas
Unicornpeak--aquic conditions with an upper limit of 50 cm from the soil surface, in gentler sloping positions that receive runoff from upslope areas
Summerland--greater than 150 cm deep to lithic contact (very deep); ashy-skeletal; umbric epipedon; in avalanche runout areas
Burroughs,
Littletahoma,
Tatoosh--no albic horizon; umbric epipedon; associated with subalpine meadows at the upper elevations of the Ipsut soils
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--high, very high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation
Potential natural vegetation--mountain hemlock, subalpine fir, Pacific silver fir, black huckleberry, dwarf bramble, common beargrass, false azalea
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 Ipsut Falls in Mount Rainier National Park
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 5 to 40 cm
*Ochric epipedon
*Albic horizon--zone from 5 to 8 cm
*Spodic horizon--zone from 8 to 40 cm
*Andic soil properties--zone from 5 to 40 cm
*Volcanic glass--zone from 5 to 40 cm
*Depth to lithic contact--40 cm
*Distinguishable tephra layers--Mount St. Helens Wn tephra (E horizon), Mount Rainier C tephra (Bs1 horizon), Mount St. Helens P set tephra (Bs2 horizon), Mount St. Helens Yn tephra (Bs2 and Bs3 horizons)
3/2017--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.