LOCATION RITZVILLE               WA+OR

Established Series
Rev. CDL/RJE/TLA
09/2019

RITZVILLE SERIES

Landscape--plateaus, canyonlands, hills
Landform--structural benches, canyons, hillslopes
Slope--0 to 70 percent
Parent material--loess
Mean annual precipitation--about 255 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 9 degrees C
Depth class--very deep or deep to a duripan
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--aridic (bordering xeric)
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--xeric

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Calcidic Haploxerolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Ritzville silt loam, cultivated (All textures are apparent field textures.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm; silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 6.8); abrupt smooth boundary

AB--23 to 46 cm; silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium and coarse prismatic structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common roots; many fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); clear wavy boundary

Bw--46 to 91 cm; silt loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium and coarse prismatic structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common roots; many fine tubular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8); abrupt wavy boundary

Bk--91 to 109 cm; silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (10YR 5/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common roots; many very fine tubular pores; segregated lime in pores and root channels; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); gradual wavy boundary

C1--109 to 137 cm; silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few roots; common very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5); abrupt irregular boundary

C2--137 to 165 cm; silt loam, pale brown (10YR 6/3) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few roots; common very fine tubular pores; strongly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.5)

TYPE LOCATION: Adams County, Washington; about 60 m east and 235 m north of the southwest corner of section 35, R. 20 N., R. 35 E., Willamette Meridian

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--9 to 12 degrees C
Moisture control section--usually dry in all parts between depths of 10 and 30 cm 50 to 75 percent of the time when the soil temperature is above 5 degrees C
Depth to Bk horizon and soft powdery secondary carbonates--50 to 110 cm
Thickness of mollic epipedon--25 to 50 cm
Particle-size control section--less than 15 percent fine sand or coarser material, including rock fragments; 5 to 10 percent clay
Depth to stratification in some pedons--100 to 150 cm
Depth to a duripan or basalt in some pedons--more than 100 cm

Ap horizon, or A horizon (where present)
Value--4 or 5 dry
Chroma--2 or 3 moist
Reaction--6.1 to 7.3
Thickness of Ap horizon--15 to 38 cm

AB horizon (where present)
Value--4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma--2 to 4 dry or moist
Reaction--6.1 to 7.3
Thickness--0 to 30 cm

Bw horizon
Value--4, 5, or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma--3 or 4 dry or moist
Structure--prismatic, subangular blocky
Reaction--6.6 to 8.4
Thickness--33 to 86 cm

Bk horizon, and C horizon (where present)
Value--4 to 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist
Chroma--2 to 4 dry or moist
Texture--silt loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam
Reaction--7.9 to 9.0
Thickness of Bk horizon--15 to 53 cm
Combined thickness of C horizon--greater than 25 cm

COMPETING SERIES:
Ellisforde--38 to 100 cm deep to laminated lacustrine sediment
Hodad--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lithic contact (basalt); 18 to 50 cm deep to calcic horizon that has 15 to 30 percent calcium carbonate equivalent
Mikkalo--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lithic contact (basalt)
Neeley--18 to 66 cm deep to calcic horizon that has 15 to 30 percent calcium carbonate equivalent

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--215 to 915 m
Climate--semiarid; cool, moist winters; warm, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation--230 to 305 mm
Mean January air temperature--about -2 degrees C
Mean July air temperature--about 22 degrees C
Mean annual air temperature--about 9 to 11 degrees C
Frost-free season--130 to 180 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Esquatzel--on bottomlands; irregular distribution of organic matter
Gravden--on terraces; loamy-skeletal particle-size class; 25 to 50 cm (shallow) to a duripan
Mikkalo--on uplands; 50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lithic contact (basalt)
Ritzcal--on uplands; calcareous throughout
Willis--on terraces; 50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lime- and silica-cemented duripan

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

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--nonirrigated wheat production, some livestock grazing
Native vegetation--bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, Wyoming big sagebrush, yarrow

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Washington and eastern Oregon; MLRA 8; large extent

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, Washington; 1914

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features in this pedon
*Mollic epipedon--zone from the surface to a depth of 46 cm
*Cambic horizon--zone from 46 to 91 cm
*Lime accumulation--zone from 91 to 109 cm; less than 15 percent calcium carbonate equivalent
*Particle-size control section--zone from 25 to 100 cm

ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory data--Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory pedon numbers 40A0964, 40A0981, 80P0304, 92P0077, and 92P0680

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.