LOCATION MATCHER                 CO+ID MT WY

Established Series
Rev. RHM/KLS
09/2022

MATCHER SERIES

The Matcher series consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in glacial till. Matcher soils are on mountain slopes and glacial moraines and have slopes of 2 to 50 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 510 mm and the mean annual air temperature is about 1 degree C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed Typic Humicryepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Matcher stony sandy loam, forested. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

Oi--0 to 5 cm; undecomposed organic material, mainly needles, bark, and twigs.

Oe--5 to 8 cm; partially decomposed organic material.

A--8 to 31 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) stony sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine crumb structure; soft, very friable; 20 percent stones; slightly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 30 cm thick)

Bw1--31 to 41 cm; reddish gray (5YR 5/2) very stony sandy loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine crumb structure; slightly hard, very friable; 60 percent stones; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 18 cm thick)

Bw2--41 to 54 cm; reddish brown (5YR 5/4) very stony sandy loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure that parts to strong very fine subangular blocks; slightly hard, very friable; 60 percent stones; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary. (8 to 23 cm thick)

BC--54 to 64 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very stony loamy sand, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; single grained; loose; 60 percent stones; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (5 to 15 cm thick)

C--64 to 161 cm; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very stony sand, olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) moist; single grained; loose; 60 percent cobbles and stones; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Gunnison County, Colorado; near the junction of Middle and South Quartz Creeks; 305 meters south of the road junction in Sec. 12, T. 50 N., R. 4 E.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of umbric epipedon--18 to 38 cm
Thickness of solum--30 to 75 cm
Depth to sand and gravel substratum--50 to 100 cm
Organic carbon content in the umbric epipedon--0.7 to 4 percent
Total rock fragment content--35 to 80 percent by volume in the control section; dominantly more than 250 mm in diameter

A horizon:
Hue--10YR or 7.5YR
Value--4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma--1.5 through 3
Reaction--pH 5.0 to 6.5

Bw horizons:
Hue--7.5YR through 2.5YR
Value--5 or 6 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma--3 through 6
Reaction--pH 4.5 to 6.0

C horizon:
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Reaction--pH 5.1 to 6.1

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Buell, Gramm, Hossick, and Penitente series, all of which have loamy-skeletal control sections.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform--mountain slopes and glacial moraines that border alpine areas
Elevation--above 2600 meters
Slope--2 to 50 percent
Parent Material--glacial till or outwash
Average annual precipitation--510 mm with generally uniform precipitation occurring throughout the year
Mean annual air temperature--1 degrees C
Frost-free season--45 to 75 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: None listed

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; rapid permeability

USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for forestry, for rangeland, and for recreational purposes. Native vegetation is mainly lodgepole pine, spruce, and fir with an understory of common juniper, whortleberry, and kinnikinnick.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Matcher series is moderately extensive in the high mountain areas of central Colorado, western Montana, northwest Wyoming and eastern Idaho. MLRAs 43B, 44B, and 48A.

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Gunnison County, Colorado, 1975

REMARKS: Converted to metric, updated formatting, and O horizons were updated to start at zero. Competing series section was not updated. 7/2022

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.