LOCATION RAMCREEK OR
Tentative Series
DRJ/JGM/KMS
02/2025
RAMCREEK SERIES
Landscape--western Cascade Mountains
Landform--complex landslides
Slope--0 to 15 percent
Parent material--colluvium and residuum derived from tuff
Mean annual precipitation--about 2100 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 7 degrees C
Depth--very deep
Drainage class--moderately well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--frigid
Soil moisture subclass--oxyaquic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, isotic, frigid Andic Oxyaquic Humudepts
TYPICAL PEDON : Ramcreek gravelly loam on a 10-percent slope on an active landslide at an elevation of 780 m (The soil was moist throughout when described on June 5, 2014.)
Oi--0 to 1 cm; slightly decomposed plant material; abrupt smooth boundary
Oe--1 to 3 cm; moderately decomposed plant material; abrupt wavy boundary
A--3 to 32 cm; gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; strong fine and medium granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 25 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt wavy boundary
BA--32 to 45 cm; gravelly loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear wavy boundary
Bw--45 to 96 cm; gravelly clay loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry, olive brown (2.5Y 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; 5 percent prominent iron-manganese masses in matrix, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; 15 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 2 percent stones; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt wavy boundary
Cg--96 to 150 cm; gravelly loam, light gray (2.5Y 7/2) dry, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 15 percent prominent iron-manganese masses in matrix, strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) moist; 15 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 2 percent stones; moderately acid (pH 5.8)
TYPE LOCATION: Linn County, Oregon, about 37 km east of Sweet Home and 0.6 km north of the junction of Sheepcreek Road and U.S. Highway 20; about 720 m south and 290 m west of the northeast corner of section 28, T. 13 S., R. 5 E.; latitude 44.410922, longitude -122.210500, datum WGS 84 (coordinates determined with a GPS)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--6 to 8 degrees C
Thickness of umbric epipedon--25 to 50 cm
Depth to redoximorphic features--40 to 100 cm below mineral soil surface
Reaction--pH 5.1 to 6.0
Particle-size control section (weighted average)
*Clay content--18 to 35 percent
*Total fragment content--5 to 35 percent
Properties of layers meeting andic subgroup criteria
*1/3-bar bulk density--0.7 to 1.0 g/cm3
*Phosphate retention--50 to 100 percent
*Ammonium oxalate extractable Al plus 1/2 Fe--1 to 2 percent
*Volcanic glass content in the coarse silt fraction--5 to 10 percent
*Thickness--18 to 50 cm
O horizons
A horizon
*Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
*Value--2 to 3 moist, 3 to 5 dry
*Chroma--2 or 3 moist and dry
*Fine-earth texture--loam, silt loam
*Clay content--18 to 27 percent
*Sand content--25 to 45 percent
*Total fragment content--5 to 35 percent
*Gravel content--5 to 35 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 10 percent
*Thickness--20 to 50 cm
BA horizon (where present)
*Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
*Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 or 6 dry
*Chroma--3 or 4 moist, 5 or 6 dry
*Fine-earth texture--loam, silt loam
*Clay content--18 to 27 percent
*Sand content--25 to 40 percent
*Total fragment content--0 to 35 percent
*Gravel content--0 to 35 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 10 percent
*Thickness--0 to 25 cm
Bw horizon
*Hue--10YR, 2.5Y
*Value--4 or 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
*Chroma--2 to 4 moist, 3 or 4 dry
*Fine-earth texture--loam, clay loam
*Clay content--22 to 35 percent
*Sand content--20 to 40 percent
*Total fragment content--0 to 35 percent
*Gravel content--0 to 35 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 15 percent
*Stone content--0 to 5 percent
*Paragravel content-0 to 15 percent
*Thickness--25 to 125 cm
Cg horizon, and BCg horizon (where present)
*Hue--10YR, 2.5Y
*Value--4 or 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
*Chroma--1 to 3 moist, 1 to 4 dry
*Fine-earth texture--loam, clay loam
*Clay content--18 to 40 percent
*Sand content--20 to 45 percent
*Total fragment content--0 to 35 percent
*Gravel content--0 to 35 percent
*Cobble content--0 to 15 percent
*Stone content--0 to 5 percent
*Paragravel content--0 to 25 percent
COMPETING SERIES: None
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--670 to 1100 m
Climate--cool, wet winters; warm, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation--1800 to 2700 mm
Mean annual air temperature--5 to 7 degrees C
Frost-free period--90 to 150 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Browder--well drained; located on mountain slopes
Cadenza--well drained, loamy-skeletal particle-size family; located on mountain slopes
Menagerie--andic soil properties throughout the particle-size control section; located on mountain slopes and complex landslides
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--moderately well drained
Saturation in normal years--below a depth of 50 to 100 cm in March through May
Flooding--none
Ponding--none
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--watershed, recreation, wildlife habitat, timber production
Potential natural vegetation--Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, Pacific rhododendron, Cascade barberry, salal, whiteveined wintergreen, red huckleberry, snow raspberry, twinflower
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Western Cascade Mountains, Oregon; MLRA 3; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES PROPOSED: Willamette National Forest, Linn County, Oregon; name from Ram Creek in Willamette National Forest
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 3 to 103 cm
*Umbric epipedon--zone from 3 to 32 cm
*Andic subgroup feature--zone from 3 to 32 cm
*Cambic horizon--zone from 32 to 96 cm
*Aquic conditions--zone from 45 to 150 cm
*Redox concentrations--zone from 45 to 150 cm
*Endosaturation--zone from 45 to 150 cm
5/2023--Laboratory data for geographically associated soils support Andic subgroup criteria in the 13th edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Type location user site ID--2014OR043006
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.