LOCATION KANASKAT WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic, mesic Typic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Kanaskat gravelly sandy loam-under a coniferous forest on a 60 percent southwest facing slope at an elevation of 1,600 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted. All textures are apparent field textures.)
Oi--2 to 1 inch; accumulation of needles, leaves, and twigs; abrupt smooth boundary.
Oa--1 inch to 0; black (10YR 2/1) decomposed forest litter, abrupt smooth boundary.
A--0 to 11 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly sandy loam (volcanic ash and cinders), pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak, fine subangular blocky structure; soft, friable nonsticky, nonplastic weakly smeary; many very fine, fine, and medium, and common coarse roots; 20 percent pebbles including weathered hard cinders; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt wavy boundary. (7 to 12 inches thick)
2Bs--11 to 23 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) extremely gravelly loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) and reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6) dry; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, moderately smeary; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; 60 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 15 inches thick)
2BC--23 to 38 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, moderately smeary; common fine and few very fine and medium roots; 50 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5/6); gradual smooth boundary. (8 to 15 inches thick)
2C--38 to 60 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) extremely gravelly coarse sandy loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) dry; massive; hard, firm, slightly sticky, nonplastic, weakly smeary; few fine roots; 60 percent pebbles, 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.8)
TYPE LOCATION: Snoqualmie Pass area, King County, Washington; about 5 miles east of Palmer Junction, about 200 feet east of road 5510; 1,375 feet east and 1,060 feet south of the northwest corner sec. 27, T. 21 N., R. 8 E.
RANGE OF CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to paralithic contact with bedrock is 55 to 72 inches. These soils are usually moist, but are dry in the moisture control section for 45 to 60 consecutive days following summer solstice. The particle-size control section averages 35 to 75 percent rock fragments by volume. Mean annual soil temperature ranges from 48 to 50 degrees F. Reaction is moderately acid to strongly acid throughout.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR; value of 3 to 5 moist, 5 or 6 dry, and chroma of 2 through 4 moist or dry. Some pedons have weakly developed E horizons.
The 2Bs horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5 moist, 5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 3 through 6 moist. It is sandy loam or loam modified by 30 to 60 percent rock fragments and 0 to 10 percent weathered hard cinders.
The 2BC horizon has value of 4 or 5 moist, 6 or 7 dry. It is sandy loam or loam modified by 40 to 60 percent rock fragments of pebble and cobble size.
The 2C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 6 or 7 dry, and chroma of 4 through 6 moist, 2 through 6 dry. It is sandy loam or coarse sandy loam modified by from 45 to 70 percent rock fragments.
In some pedons the rock fragments in all horizons are mainly fine pebbles.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ahl, Barnhardt, Beausite, Blethen, Heisler, Lyre, Ogarty, Pickett, Squires, Swinomish, Tunnel, and Vanzandt series. All of these soils lack the mantle of volcanic ash. In addition, Ahl, Beausite, Ogarty, Pickett, and Squires soils have a lithic contact at 20 to 40 inches. Barnhardt and Husum soils are dry for more than 60 consecutive days. Heisler soils are 35 to 55 percent phyllite fragments in the particle-size control section. Lyre soils have a 2C horizon of sandy-skeletal material in the lower part of the particle-size control section. Neer, Swinomish, and Vanzandt soils have a paralithic contact at 20 to 40 inches. Tunnel soils have a hue of 2.5YR or 5YR in the spodic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Kanaskat soils are on foothill backslopes at elevations from 1,000 to 1,700 feet. Slopes are 0 to 65 percent. The slopes are dissected in some areas. Kanaskat soils formed in weathered volcanic ash and colluvium from a wide variety of extrusive igneous rocks with a mantle of volcanic ash. The climate is maritime with cool dry summers and mild winters. The average annual precipitation ranges from 50 to 80 inches. The mean January temperature is 34 degrees F; mean July temperature is 62 degrees F; and mean annual temperature is 47 degrees F. The frost-free season (32 degrees F) is 140 to 170 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Christoff, Littlejohn, Pitcher soils and the competing Ogarty soils. Christoff soils have less than 35 percent rock fragments by volume in their control section and they are frigid. Pitcher and Littlejohn soils are frigid.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for timber production, wildlife habitat and watershed. Vegetation is Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, red alder, and bigleaf maple with an understory of vine maple, bitter cherry, salal, Oregon-grape, western swordfern, Longtube twinflower, western brackenfern, red huckleberry and trailing blackberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: West slopes of the Cascade Mountains in west central Washington. Series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Snoqualmie Pass Area, King County, Washington, 1986.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are an ochric epipedon from the mineral surface to 11 inches formed in volcanic ash and a spodic horizon 11 to 23 inches formed in colluvium and residuum. The spodic horizon is assumed not to meet chemical criteria for a spodic horizon but is assumed to have silt-sized and larger pellets and cracked coatings.