LOCATION OWYHIGH WA

Established Series
IRD. TMR/MPR
07/2017

OWYHIGH SERIES

Landscape--Cascade Mountains
Landform--bedrock benches, ridges, glacial valley walls, cirques
Slope--15 to 100 percent
Parent material--volcanic ash and colluvium over andesite
Mean annual precipitation--about 2200 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 3 degrees C
Depth class--moderately deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--cryic
Soil moisture subclass--typic

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial, glassy Andic Haplocryods

TYPICAL PEDON: Owyhigh medial sandy loam on a forested, north-facing glacial valley wall with a slope of 35 percent and at an elevation of 1597 m (When described on October 2, 2012, the soil was slightly moist throughout.)

Oi--0 to 1 cm; slightly decomposed plant material from deciduous shrubs, conifer needles, and twigs; many fine interstitial pores; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt smooth boundary

Oe--1 to 6 cm; moderately decomposed plant material; common very fine and fine and few medium roots; many fine interstitial pores; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt wavy boundary

E--6 to 18 cm; medial sandy loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel; very strongly acid (pH 4.7); abrupt wavy boundary

Bs1--18 to 34 cm; paragravelly medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium to very coarse roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel and 20 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear irregular boundary

Bs2--34 to 52 cm; paragravelly medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine and fine interstitial pores; 5 percent fine pumice paragravel and 15 percent medium and coarse pumice paragravel; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary

Bs3--52 to 80 cm; paragravelly medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry, brown (7.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine to medium roots; common very fine and fine irregular pores; 10 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel, 5 percent fine to coarse subangular andesite gravel, and 5 percent subangular andesite cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt irregular boundary

2R--80 cm; fractured andesite

TYPE LOCATION: Pierce County, Washington, about 1 km southwest of Deadwood Lakes, near Chinook Pass on Washington State Route 410 in Mount Rainier National Park; about 630 m south and 100 m west of the northeast corner of section 15, T. 16 N., R. 10 E., Willamette Meridian; White River Park, Washington, U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle; latitude 46.878999 degrees north, longitude -121.530725 degrees west, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--3 to 6 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October
Depth to lithic contact--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep)
Organic carbon content--less than 6 percent in mineral horizons
Volcanic glass content--50 to 75 percent glass and glass-coated minerals
Ammonium oxalate Al plus 1/2 Fe--greater than 0.5 percent in spodic horizon

Particle-size control section
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock and rock fragment content--5 to 35 percent, with pumice paragravel typically in upper part of profile and subangular andesite gravel and cobbles in lower part in some areas

O horizon
*In lieu of texture--slightly decomposed plant material, moderately decomposed plant material
*Combined thickness--2 to 8 cm

E horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
*Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
*Chroma--1 or 2 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial loamy sand
*Clay content--1 to 5 percent
*Pararock fragment content--0 to 10 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
*Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
*Thickness--3 to 15 cm

Bs1 horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 5YR
*Value--2.5 to 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial coarse sandy loam, medial loamy sand
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock fragment content--5 to 35 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
*Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
*Thickness--10 to 25 cm

Bs2 horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 5YR
*Value--3 or 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial loamy sand, medial coarse sandy loam
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock fragment content--5 to 35 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel
*Reaction--4.5 to 5.5
*Thickness--15 to 30 cm

Bs3 horizon
*Hue--7.5YR, 5YR
*Value--3 or 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist or dry
*Fine-earth texture--medial sandy loam, medial coarse sandy loam, medial fine sandy loam
*Clay content--1 to 10 percent
*Pararock and rock fragment content--10 to 35 percent total, including 5 to 20 percent fine to coarse pumice paragravel, 0 to 10 percent fine to coarse subangular andesite gravel, and 0 to 10 percent subangular andesite cobbles
*Reaction--5.1 to 6.0
*Thickness--20 to 30 cm

COMPETING SERIES:
Tipsoo--greater than 150 cm deep to lithic contact (very deep); lithologic discontinuity 60 to 90 cm from the soil surface

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Slope--15 to 100 percent
Elevation--1000 to 2000 m
Climate--cool, dry summers; cold, wet winters
Mean annual precipitation--1700 to 2800 mm
Mean annual air temperature--2 to 5 degrees C
Frost-free period--30 to 60 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Ipsut--less than 50 cm deep to lithic contact (shallow); in similar landform positions
Tipsoo--greater than 150 cm deep to lithic contact (very deep); in similar landform positions
Mysticlake--aquic conditions with upper limit of 25 cm from the soil surface; in gentler sloping positions that receive runoff from upslope areas
Unicornpeak--aquic conditions 50 cm below the soil surface, in gentler sloping positions that receive runoff from upslope areas
Summerland--greater than 150 cm deep to lithic contact (very deep); skeletal; umbric epipedon; in avalanche runout areas
Burroughs, Littletahoma, Tatoosh--no albic horizon; umbric epipedon; associated with subalpine meadows at the upper elevation range of the Owyhigh series

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--high, very high

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation
Potential natural vegetation--subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, Pacific silver fir, Alaska yellow-cedar, Engelmann spruce, Cascade azalea, black huckleberry, false azalea, five-leaved bramble, dwarf bramble, one-sided wintergreen, Sitka valerian, common beargrass

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Cascade Mountains, Washington; MLRA 3; moderate extent

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington; 2014; name from Owyhigh Lake in Mount Rainier National Park

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 31 to 80 cm
*Ochric epipedon
*Albic horizon--zone from 6 to 18 cm
*Spodic horizon--zone from 18 to 80 cm
*Andic soil properties--zone from 6 to 80 cm
*Volcanic glass--zone from 6 to 80 cm
*Depth to lithic contact--80 cm
*Distinguishable tephra layers--Mount St. Helens Wn tephra (E horizon), Mount Rainier C tephra (Bs1 horizon), Mount St. Helens Yn tephra (Bs2 horizon)

3/2017--This official series description was updated according to SSR1 Technical Note 11--Content and Format of Official Series Descriptions (revised 12/2015). Most of the changes were in formatting; no major technical changes were made.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.