LOCATION PINOTY WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Ashy over medial, glassy over amorphic, mesic Typic Udivitrands
TYPICAL PEDON: Pinoty sandy loam - forested on a 10 percent southeast-facing slope at 1,200 feet elevation. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted. All textures are apparent field textures.)
Oi--2 inches to 1/2 inch; needles, leaves, and twigs.
Oa--1/2 inch to 0; decomposed organic material.
A--0 to 3 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine roots and common fine and medium roots; many very fine irregular pores; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
AB--3 to 4 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) paragravelly loamy sand, brown (10YR 5/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots and few coarse roots; many fine irregular pores; 20 percent pumice; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 2 inches thick)
2Bw1--4 to 9 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; weakly smeary; many very fine roots and common fine and medium roots; many fine irregular pores; 5 percent pumice; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 6 inches)
2Bw2--9 to 21 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) paragravelly loamy sand, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry, weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; weakly smeary; many very fine and fine roots and common medium roots; many fine and medium irregular pores; 20 percent pumice; neutral; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 12 inches)
3Bw3--21 to 30 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sandy loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; weakly smeary; many very fine, fine, and medium roots; many very fine irregular pores; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (10 to 12 inches)
C1--30 to 45 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) sandy loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry; massive; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; common fine irregular pores and few fine tubular pores; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (12 to 15 inches)
4C2--45 to 60 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) extremely gravelly loamy sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; single grain; loose; many very fine and fine and common medium irregular pores; 55 percent pebbles and 15 percent cobbles; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Skamania County, Washington; about 5 miles southeast of Marble Mountain; 2,500 feet south and 400 feet west of the northeast corner of sec. 14, T. 7 N., R. 6 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Mean annual soil temperature is 48 to 51 degrees F. Depth to the gravelly substratum ranges from 40 to 50 inches. Reaction is slightly acid to neutral throughout. The upper part of the particle-size control sectin has greater than 60 percent volcanic ash and pumice and 15-bar moisture of 10 to 12 percent. The lower part of the particle-size control section is 30 to 60 percent volcanic glass, 1 to 2 percent acid oxalate aluminum plus 1/2 iron, and greater than 15 percent 15-bar moisture.
The A horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 moist or dry.
The 2Bw and 3Bw horizons have value of 3 or 4 moist and 5 through 7 dry, and have chroma of 2 through 4 moist or dry. It is sandy loam, paragravely sandy loam or paragravelly loamy sand and has 0 to 20 percent pumice fragments.
The 2C2 horizon has value of 5 or 6 moist and 6 or 7 dry, and has chroma of 2 or 3 moist or dry. It is very gravelly sand, extremely gravelly loamy sand, or extremely gravelly sand and has 40 to 60 percent pebbles and 5 to 15 percent cobbles.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. The Loony, Louploup, and Pinchot series are similar soils in other families. Loony and Louploup soils have a Xeric moisture regimes, are ashy over loamy, and are frigid. Pinchot soils are ashy.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Pinoty soils are on terraces at elevations of 1,000 to 1,500 feet. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. These soils formed in layers of aerially deposited pumice and volcanic ash overlying lahar and alluvial sand and gravels. Beginning at the surface of the mineral soil, the stratigraphy of pyroclastic material from Mt. St. Helens in a typical Pinoty soil profile is (1) fresh ash and pumice including the 176-year-old "Layer T", (2) pumice of the 400-year-old "Layer W", (3) ash, pumice, and scoria of the 2500-year-old "B set", (4) lahar material of gravelly alluvium. The climate is characterized by warm, moist summers and cool, wet winters. Average annual precipitation is 115 to 130 inches. The mean January temperature is about 30 degrees F, mean July temperature is about 63 degrees F, and the mean annual temperature is 50 to 53 degrees F. The frost-free season is 100 to 120 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Yalelake and the competing Pinchot soils. Yalelake soils have an umbric epipedon.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow or medium runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for timber production, recreation, wildlife habitat and as watershed. The native vegetation is Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western redcedar. Understory species include vine maple, Pacific dogwood, salal, Oregon-grape, western brackenfern, and western swordfern.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Skamania County, Washington. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Skamania County, Washington, 1987.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil are an ochric epipedon from the mineral surface to 4 inches; a cambic horizon from 21 to 30 inches, and a particle-size control section from 0 to 40 inches that is ashy from 0 to 21 inches and medial from 21 to 40 inches.
Vitrands feature - 15-bar moisture throughout 88 percent of the upper 60 cm of less than 12 percent.
Classification changed 6/98 based on 1998 Keys to Soil Taxonomy. More investiation is needed to confirm the medial classification of the "B" tephra set.