LOCATION MURLOSE OR
Established Series
Rev. CWL-MPK-JVC-JBF
04/2011
MURLOSE SERIES
The Murlose series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in volcanic ash and residuum derived from basalt. Murlose soils are on plateaus. Slopes are 1 to 20 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 400 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy, glassy, frigid, shallow Vitrandic Durixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Murlose gravelly ashy coarse sandy loam--on the summit of a plateau sloping 1 percent at an elevation of about 1,525 meters--forest land. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A1--0 to 8 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) gravelly ashy coarse sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and common very fine roots; common fine irregular pores; 15 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 or 10 cm thick)
A2--8 to 28 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) cobbly ashy sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to strong coarse granular; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; common fine tubular pores; 15 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; slightly alkaline (pH 7.4); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)
Bt--28 to 48 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) cobbly ashy sandy clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine angular blocky; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine roots; common fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; common faint and few distinct clay films on faces of peds; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear smooth boundary. (15 to 20 cm thick)
Bqm--48 to 56 cm; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) cemented material, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong medium platy structure; extremely hard, slightly rigid; strongly cemented by secondary silica; common fine very dark brown (10YR 2/2) manganese nodules; abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 15 cm thick)
R--56 cm; basalt.
TYPE LOCATION: Lake County, Oregon; about 12 miles northwest of the village of Silver Lake; approximately 1,000 feet south and 1,100 feet west of the northeast corner of section 17, T. 28 S., R. 13 E.; USGS Oatman Flat 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 43 degrees 08 minutes 49 seconds N and longitude 121 degrees 11 minutes 43 seconds W; NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring, dry in summer and fall; xeric moisture regime that borders on aridic.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Mollic epipedon thickness: 20 to 30 cm; includes the Bt horizon in some pedons.
Depth to base of argillic horizon: 23 to 48 cm.
Depth to duripan: 38 to 48 cm.
Duripan thickness: 8 to 15 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 50 to 60 cm to a lithic contact.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: 20 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: 15 to 30 percent, mainly cobbles and gravel. Lithology of fragments is basalt.
A1 horizon
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.
Volcanic glass content: 50 to 90 percent in coarse silt through fine sand fractions.
A2 horizon (when present)
Texture: Cobbly ashy sandy loam
Clay content: 10 to 18 percent
Rock fragments: 15 to 35 percent total with 5 to 25 percent gravel and 10 to 20 percent cobbles.
Organic matter content: 1 to 3 percent.
Volcanic glass content: 50 to 90 percent in coarse silt through fine sand fractions.
Bt horizon
Value: 4 through 6 dry, 2 through 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Texture: Cobbly ashy clay loam or cobbly ashy sandy clay loam.
Clay content: 20 to 35 percent
Organic matter content: 0.5 to 2 percent.
Volcanic glass content: 30 to 60 percent in coarse silt through fine sand fractions.
Other features: Some pedons have a Bq horizon above the duripan.
COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Murlose soils are on lava plateaus. They typically occur on summit positions. These soils formed in eolian volcanic ash and residuum derived from basalt. Slopes are 1 to 20 percent. Elevations range from 1,375 to 1,555 meters. The climate is semiarid and characterized by cold, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 360 to 460 mm, the mean annual temperature is 6 to 7 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 90 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Moonbeam and
Norcross soils. Moonbeam soils are clayey, shallow to duripans, have an aridic moisture regime, and are on plateaus. Norcross soils are clayey, shallow to duripans, and are on plateaus.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately slow permeability; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.
USE AND VEGETATION: Murlose soils are used for livestock grazing, forestland, and wildlife habitat. The plant community is a sparse forest canopy of western juniper and ponderosa pine with an understory of mountain big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, Idaho fescue, and bluebunch wheatgrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Oregon. These soils are not extensive with about 3,800 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 21.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County (Northern Part), Oregon, 2006. The name is coined.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 28 cm (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 28 to 48 cm (Bt horizon).
Vitrandic intergrade feature - The zone from the soil surface to 48 cm (A1, A2, and Bt horizons).
Duripan - The zone from 48 to 56 cm (Bqm horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 56 cm to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section and ashy substitute class with glassy mineralogy - The zone from 28 to 48 cm (Bt horizon).
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.