LOCATION PAYETTE IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Calciargidic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Payette coarse sandy loam, rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 5 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coarse sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to weak very fine granular; slightly hard, very friable, many very fine roots; many very fine pores; neutral (pH 6.9); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 12 inches thick)
Bt--5 to 16 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) coarse sandy loam containing 5 percent more clay than the A horizon, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure parting to weak very fine granular; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky; common very fine roots; many very fine pores; thin clay films on faces of peds and pores; neutral (pH 6.9); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 22 inches thick)
Bk--16 to 31 inches; very pale brown (10YR 7/3) coarse sandy loam, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; weak fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, few very fine roots; many very fine pores; few thin clay films in some pores; common fine veins of calcium carbonate; mildly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 20 inches thick)
C--31 to 60 inches; pale yellow (2.5Y 7/3) coarse sand, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) moist; single grained; loose; few roots; many very fine pores; neutral (pH 7.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Gem County, Idaho; about 5 miles southwest of Emmett; 550 feet east and 75 feet north of the southwest corner sec. 2, T. 6 N., R. 2 W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Average annual soil temperature - 48 to 53 degrees F.
Average summer soil temperature - 65 to 70 degrees F.
Control section - argillic horizon - 12 to 15 percent clay, 15 percent particles coarser than very fine sand, less than 35 percent coarse fragments
Depth to coarse sand or loamy coarse sand - 25 to 46 inches
Solum thickness - 25 to 46 inches
Reaction - neutral to moderately alkaline
Depth to weak or very weak calcium carbonate - 15 to 34 inches
Mollic epipedon thickness - 10 to 17 inches
Organic carbon, upper 6 inch layer average - 0.7 to 1.7 percent
A horizon
Value - 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma - 1 through 3 dry or moist
Some pedons have AB or BA horizons
Bt horizon
Value - 5 through 7 dry, 3 through 5 moist
Chroma - 2 through 4 dry or moist
Texture - L, COSL, GR-SL, GR-COSL
Structure - weak granular, subangular blocky, or prismatic
C horizon
Hue - 10YR or 2.5Y
Value - 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4 dry or moist
Texture - COS, LCOS
Reaction - neutral to mildly alkaline
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Haw and Tollgate series in other families. Haw and Tollgate soils have more than 18 percent clay in the argillic horizon. Tollgate soils have more than 35 percent coarse fragments in the argillic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Payette soils are in strongly dissected, uplands and terraces in the Idaho and related formations at elevations of 2,300 to 4,000 feet. Slopes range from 0 to 75 percent. The soils formed in coarse or moderately coarse textured, old, unconsolidated or poorly consolidated sediments. The sediments are high in quartz, micaceous, and feldspathic material, and are derived mostly from intrusive acid igneous rocks. The climate has relatively dry summers. Frost-free period of 140 to 160 days, and average annual precipitation of 10 to 13 inches, including 1.5 to 4 feet of snowfall. Average annual air temperature is 46 to 51 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cashmere, Harpt, Lolalita, and Van Dusen soils and the competing Haw soils. Cashmere, Harpt, and Lolalita soils lack an argillic horizon, and the Lolalita soils lack a mollic epipedon. Van Dusen soils have a mollic epipedon thicker than 20 inches and a fine-loamy argillic horizon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium or very rapid runoff; moderately rapid permeability in the upper part and very rapid in the lower part.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for range. Vegetation is chiefly bluebunch wheatgrass, Thurbers needlegrass, Sandberg bluegrass, cheatgrass, and big sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southwestern Idaho. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Idaho, 1949.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 16 inches (A and Bt horizons)
Argillic horizon - the zone from 5 to 16 inches (Bt horizon)
Calcic horizon - the zone from 16 to 31 inches (Bk horizon)
Moisture regime - aridic, bordering on xeric
Temperature regime - mesic