LOCATION KUSIPUSHTAY WA
Established Series
Rev. PNP/KDPL/KMS
09/2019
KUSIPUSHTAY SERIES
Landscape--plateaus, hills
Landform--ridges, structural benches, canyon side slopes, hillslopes
Slope--0 to 60 percent
Parent material--colluvium and residuum derived from basalt mixed with some loess
Mean annual precipitation--380 to 460 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 9 degrees C
Depth class--deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic, mesic Vertic Palexerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Kusipushtay very cobbly silt loam, very stony, 30 percent slopes, on a southeast-facing side slope, under scattered white oak in an area of rangeland
A--0 to 8 cm; very cobbly silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; strong fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine interstitial pores; 20 percent cobbles and 15 percent gravel; 10 percent surface stones and cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear smooth boundary
BA--8 to 15 cm; very gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; common very fine irregular pores; 30 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt smooth boundary
Bt1--15 to 36 cm; very gravelly clay loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, fine, and medium roots; common very fine tubular and irregular pores; 30 percent distinct clay films on faces of peds; 35 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary
Bt2--36 to 64 cm; very gravelly clay, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; strong fine angular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine, fine, and medium roots; common fine pores; 30 percent continuous clay films on faces of peds; 40 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary
Bt3--64 to 76 cm; extremely gravelly clay, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few medium roots; common fine irregular pores; 30 percent distinct clay films on faces of peds; 45 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt irregular boundary
Bt4--76 to 122 cm; extremely cobbly clay, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium angular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine roots; common fine irregular pores; 15 percent distinct clay films on faces of peds; 45 percent gravel and 20 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt smooth boundary
R--122 cm; indurated basalt
TYPE LOCATION: Yakama Nation, Yakima County, Washington, about 6.5 km northeast of Old Maid Canyon Guard Station; about 100 m east and 400 m north of section 3, T. 11 N., R. 15 E.; latitude 46.4669444, longitude -120.9422222, datum WGS 84 (coordinates estimated from section, township, and range)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature at a depth of 50 cm--9 to 10 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--usually moist, but dry 75 to 90 consecutive days in most years
Clay content in particle-size control section--35 to 60 percent
Rock fragment content in particle-size control section--35 to 85 percent
Depth to bedrock--100 to 150 cm
Kind of bedrock--commonly basalt, but some pedons are underlain by siltstone or sandstone
A horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma--1 to 3 when dry or moist
Thickness--5 to 20 cm
BA horizon (where present)
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma--2 or 3 dry or moist
Texture of fine-earth fraction--loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam
Gravel content--0 to 40 percent
Cobble content--0 to 20 percent
Thickness--5 to 20 cm
Bt horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--3 to 6 dry, 2 to 4 moist
Chroma--2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture of fine-earth fraction--silty clay loam, clay loam, clay
Gravel content--20 to 55 percent
Cobble content--5 to 35 percent
Combined thickness--112 to 137 cm
COMPETING SERIES:
Tekison--no lithic contact within a depth of more than 150 cm
Wipple--dry more than 90 days following summer solstice
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--610 to 1150 m
Climate--semiarid; warm, dry summers; cool, moist winters
Mean annual precipitation--380 to 460 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 9 degrees C
Frost-free season--80 to 130 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Camaspatch--30 to 50 cm (shallow) to a lithic contact (basalt)
McDaniel--loamy-skeletal particle-size class
Pushtay--fine-loamy particle-size class
Thiessen--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lithic contact (basalt)
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately low
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--livestock grazing
Vegetation--Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, balsamroot, big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, widely scattered Oregon white oak and ponderosa pine
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Yakima County, south-central Washington; MLRA 8; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Yakama Nation, Yakima County, Washington; 2014
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon
*Mollic epipedon--zone from the surface to a depth of 36 cm
*Argillic horizon--zone from 15 to 122 cm
*Depth to lithic contact--122 cm
The Kusipushtay series originally was named the Tomith series. Kusi pushtay translates to horse hills in Yakama. The type location for this series is in the Horse Heaven Hills.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.