LOCATION PATRON WA+OR
Established Series
HRG/CSM/KWH
02/2025
PATRON SERIES
Landscape--hills, foothills
Landform--hillslopes, north-facing hillslopes
Slope--5 to 70 percent
Parent Material--colluvium and residuum over basalt with the influence of volcanic ash in the upper part
Mean annual precipitation--about 340 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 9 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, mesic Vitrandic Palexerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Patron gravelly ashy silt loam--rangeland; on a 22 percent northwest-facing slope at 938 m elevation.
A--0 to 7 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly ashy silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and few fine roots; many very fine irregular pores: 15 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt smooth boundary
AB--7 to 30 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) gravelly ashy silt loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, and few fine roots; many very fine irregular pores: 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0); abrupt wavy boundary
2Bt1--30 to 58 cm; brown (10YR 4/3) gravelly silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium subangular blocky; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common fine and few coarse roots; many very fine irregular pores: common distinct clay films on faces of peds and pressure faces on peds; 20 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0) clear wavy boundary
2Bt2--58 to 89 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly silty clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; common very fine and few medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and pressure faces on peds; 20 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.0); clear wavy boundary
2Bt3--89 to 152 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, very sticky and very plastic; few very fine and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and pressure faces on peds; 35 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.2); gradual wavy boundary
TYPE LOCATION: Kittitas County, Washington, about 91 m east, and 732 m north of the southeast corner of section 28, T. 16 N., R. 21 E., USGS McDonald Spring topographic quadrangle; latitude 44.7765083, longitude -119.5741425, WGS84 datum (coordinates estimated from PLSS details)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--6 to 9 degrees C
Soil Moisture--usually moist but are dry in all parts for 70 to 100 days after the summer solstice.
Thickness of mollic epipedon--50 to 80 cm
Reaction--pH 6.6 to 8.4 (neutral to moderately alkaline
Depth to secondary carbonates--105 to 155 cm
Combined thickness of volcanic ash influenced layers--7 to 45 cm
Estimated properties of layers influenced by volcanic ash
*Ammonium oxalate extractable Al + Fe--0.4 to 0.7 percent
*0.02 to 2.0 mm fraction--greater than 30 percent
*1/3-bar bullk density--1.10 to 1.30 g/cm3
*Volcanic glass in the 0.02 to 2.0 mm fraction--5 to 10 percent
Particle Size Control Section:
Clay--35 to 40 percent
Coarse Fragments--15 to 35 percent
A, AB horizon
*Value--2 or 3 moist, 3 or 4 dry
*Chroma--1 to 3
*Fine earth texture--ashy silt loam, ashy loam
*Clay--10 to 25 percent
*Sand--20 to 40 percent
*Total fragments--0 to 25 percent
*Gravel content--0 to 15 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 10 percent
*Organic matter-- 2 to 4 percent
*Reaction--pH 6.6 to 7.3 (neutral)
*Thickness--5 to 45 cm
2Bt horizons
*Value--2 or 3 moist, 5 or 6 dry
*Chroma--2 or 3
*Fine earth texture--silty clay loam, clay loam, clay
*Clay--30 to 50 percent
*Sand--15 to 40 percent
*Total fragments--0 to 35 percent
*Gravel--0 to 35 percent
*Cobble--0 to 10 percent
*Organic matter-- 0.5 to 2 percent
*Reaction-- pH 6.6 to 7.8 (neutral to slightly alkaline)
*Thickness--20 to 35 cm
2Btk horizon, if present
*Value of 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
*Chroma of 3 or 4 dry or moist
*Fine earth texture--clay or clay loam
*Clay--35 to 45 percent
*Sand--25 to 45 percent
*Total fragments--5 to 40 percent
*Gravel content--5 to 35 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 15 percent
*Organic matter--0.25 to 0.5 percent
*Reaction--moderately to strongly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES:
Fawnspring--have 50 to 60 percent clay
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--310 to 1070 m
Slope--5 to 70 percent
Climate--cool moist winters, warm dry summers
Mean annual precipitation--300 to 460 mm
Mean annual air temperature--7 to 9 degrees C
Frost-free period--60 to 135 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Camaspatch-occur on ridges and plateaus; clayey-skeletal and 30 to 50 cm to bedrock
Tanksel soils are on hillslopes; clayey-skeletal and 50 to 100 cm to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage--well drained
Flooding--none
Ponding--none
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high to high in upper horizons, moderately low to moderately high in lower horizons
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--livestock grazing, wildlife habitat
Vegetation--Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, cusick bluegrass, threetip sagebruch
Typical Ecological Site--JD North 12-16 PZ (R010XB070OR)
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Central Washington and Oregon; MLRA 8; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES PROPOSED:
Kittitas County (Yakima Training Center), Washington, 1994
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
*Particle-size control section--30 to 81 cm
*Mollic epipedon--0 to 58 cm
*Argillic horizon--30 to 152 cm
*Volcanic Glass - 0 to 30 cm
*Lithological discontinuity--30 to 58 cm
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.