LOCATION MASET                   OR

Established Series
Rev. JSC/AON/RWL
01/2011

MASET SERIES

The Maset series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils that formed in a thin mantle of ash over buried loamy soils. Maset soils are on benches, escarpments, and hills and have slopes of 1 to 45 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 18 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 43 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy over loamy-skeletal, glassy over isotic, frigid Alfic Vitrixerands

TYPICAL PEDON: Maset ashy coarse sandy loam, woodland. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 4 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) ashy coarse sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak very fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots; many very fine pores; about 10 percent gravel of hard lava; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary.

A2--4 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) ashy coarse sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; many very fine pores; about 10 percent gravel of hard lava; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the A horizon is 4 to 12 inches)

AC--8 to 17 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) gravelly ashy coarse sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; many very fine pores; about 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles of hard lava; slightly acid (pH 6.5); gradual wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)

C--17 to 21 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) gravelly ashy coarse sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine roots; many very fine pores; about 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles of hard lava; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)

2Ab--21 to 24 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) gravelly sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and very fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; about 20 percent gravel; 5 percent cobbles and 5 percent stones; slightly acid (pH 6.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick)

2Btb--24 to 32 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) very gravelly clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry; brown (10YR 4/3) crushed; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and very fine roots; many very fine tubular pores; about 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; common faint clay films on peds, few clay films in pores; slightly acid (pH 6.5); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)

2Cr--32 to 34 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) weathered tuffaceous sandstone, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; platy rock structure. (0 to 6 inches thick)

2R--34 inches; tuffaceous sandstone.

TYPE LOCATION: Klamath County, Oregon; about 7 miles northeast of the town of Beatty; 3,700 feet east and 1,600 feet south of the northwest corner section 20, T. 35 S., R. 13 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature is 42 to 45 degrees F. The soils are dry for 60 to 90 consecutive days. The ash mantle is 14 to 35 inches thick and it has 60 to 70 percent pumiceous ash and other pyroclastics. It has an estimated phosphate retention of 25 to 50 percent, acid oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half iron of 0.4 to 1.0 percent, 15-bar moisture of less than 10 percent, and moist bulk density of 0.85 to 0.95 grams per cubic centimeter. It has 0 to 5 percent fine pumice and 5 to 20 percent hard rock fragments. The buried soil has mixed mineralogy and 35 to 65 percent hard rock fragments. Depth to bedrock ranges from 20 to 40 inches.

The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 5 or 6 dry, and chroma of 2 moist and dry.

The C horizon has value of 3 or 4 moist, 6 or 7 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry.

The 2Btb horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4 moist, 5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 2 through 4 moist and dry. It is very gravelly loam and very gravelly clay loam and has 18 to 35 percent clay. Some pedons lack clay films in this horizon.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Crosswhite, Shaser and Windego series. Crosswhite soils are dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days. Shaser and Windego soils are very deep.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Maset soils are on benches, escarpments, and volcanic domes at elevations of 4,200 to 5,500 feet. Slopes are 1 to 45 percent. The soils formed in a mantle of pumiceous ash over loamy and very gravelly buried soils. The climate is characterized by cold wet winters and cool dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 17 to 20 inches. The mean January temperature is 26 degrees F., the mean July temperature is 60 degrees F., and the mean annual temperature is 41 to 44 degrees F. The frost-free period is 10 to 50 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Merlin, Ponina, Shanahan, and Yawhee soils. Merlin soils have mollic epipedons, clayey Bt horizons, and are underlain by bedrock at depths less than 20 inches. Ponina soils have clayey Bt horizons and duripans at depths less than 20 inches. Shanahan soils are ashy over loamy. Yawhee soils are ashy-skeletal.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately rapid permeability in the upper part of the soil and moderately slow in the lower part.

USE AND VEGETATION: The soils are used for timber production, grazing by livestock, irrigated hay and pasture and wildlife habitat. Vegetation mainly is ponderosa pine, antelope bitterbrush, curlleaf mountainmahogany, and Idaho fescue.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern and eastern fringes of the pumice area south of the Sprague River in south-central Oregon; MLRA 6. The soils are extensive.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Klamath County, Oregon, 1977.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon:

Ochric epipedon

Alfic feature - a buried argillic horizon from 24 to 32 inches (2Btb horizon)

Andic properties - from 0 to 21 inches (A1, A2, AC, C horizons ) and based on lab data from associated Steiger series.

Particle-size control section- from 0 to 40 inches with 0 to 21 inches meeting the ashy family criteria and 21 to 32 inches meeting the loamy-skeletal family criteria.

This soil has contrasting colors in the ashy layers. The coarse and very coarse sand has non-mollic colors. The finer material has mollic colors. The epipedon has over one percent organic matter. Depending on colors described as dominant, some pedons will classify as Humic.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.