LOCATION ROARING WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic Haploxerandic Haplocryepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Roaring silt loam - woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--0 to 2 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist, loose, slightly decomposed organic litter composed of needles, leaves, twigs, bark, and cones; abrupt smooth boundary.
E--2 to 2 1/2 inches; light gray (10YR 7/1) very fine sandy loam, dark gray (10YR 5/1) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and fine roots; slightly acid (pH 6.2) abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 1 inch thick)
Bw1--2 1/2 to 6 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; weakly smeary; many very fine, fine, few medium and coarse roots; many very fine and fine pores; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 5 inches thick)
Bw2--6 to 14 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; weakly smeary; many very fine, fine, few medium and coarse roots; many very fine and fine pores; 5 percent pebbles, slightly acid (pH 6.4) clear wavy boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
2BC1--14 to 20 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; weakly smeary; many very fine, fine, few medium and coarse roots; many very fine and fine pores; 5 percent pebbles, slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 7 inches thick)
2BC2--20 to 30 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common very fine, fine, few medium and coarse roots; common very fine and fine pores; 5 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4) clear wavy boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
3C1--30 to 38 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; single grain; loose; few very fine, fine, medium, and coarse roots; 25 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)
3C2--38 to 59 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) gravelly loamy coarse sand, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; single grain; few very fine and fine roots; 30 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (10 to 22 inches thick)
3C3--59 to 62 inches; light gray (2.5Y 7/2) gravelly loamy fine sand, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) moist; single grain; very fine and fine roots; 35 percent pebbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Pend Oreille County, Washington, 300 feet east and 100 feet south of the northwest corner, sec. 24, T. 37 N., R. 43 E. W.M.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: These soils are usually moist, but are dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days following summer solstice. The mean annual soil temperature is 20 inches and ranges from 40 to 42 degrees F. The solum is 20 to 30 inches thick. The control section contains less than 35 percent coarse fragments. Depth to the 2C horizon is 20 to 30 inches. Reaction is neutral to slightly acid.
The E horizon, when present, has value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist, and chroma of 1 or 2 dry and moist.
The Bw horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 5 to 7 dry, 3 to 5 moist, and chroma of 2 to 4, dry or moist. Texture is silt loam, loam, or sandy loam. Pebble content ranges from 0 to 10 percent.
The 2BC horizon has value of 5 or 7 when dry and 3 to 5 when moist, and chroma of 2 or 4 when dry and moist. It has 0 to 10 percent pebbles.
The 3C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 10YR, value of 6 or 7 dry, 4 to 6 moist and chroma of 2 to 4, dry or moist. Texture of the fine earth is loamy coarse sand, loamy sand or loamy fine sand. Pebbles range from 20 to 35 percent in the upper part and 25 to 45 percent in the lower part.
COMPETING SERIES: This is the Molly series and similar series in other familes are Scrabblers and Resner series. Molly soils are sandy loam or coarse sandy loam and 0 to 15 percent pebbles in the lower part of the particle-size control section. Scrabblers soils have a mean annual soil temperature of 44 to 46 degrees F. Resner soils have 35 to 65 percent rock fragments in the lower part of the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Roaring soils are on outwash terraces and terrace escarpments at elevations of 3,500 to 6,000 feet. Slopes are smooth or undulating and range from 5 to 65 percent. The soil formed in outwash mainly from granitic rock with a mantle of volcanic ash and loess. The mean annual temperature ranges from 37 to 39 degrees F, the average annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 45 inches. The frost-free season is 60 to 90 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Brickel, Buhrig, Manley, Prouty, and Vassar soils. Brickel, Buhrig, and Prouty soils are loamy-skeletal. Manley soils are medial over loamy-skeletal, and Vassar soils are medial over loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow to very rapid runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Woodland, wildlife habitat, watershed, and recreation. Native vegetation includes Douglas-fir, western hemlock, subalpine fir, western redcedar, lodgepole pine, western larch, grand fir, Engelmann spruce, and western white pine with an understory of beargrass, pachystima, saskatoon serviceberry, redosier dogwood, mallow ninebark, creambush oceanspray, kinnikinnick, Oregon-grape, and strawberry.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northeastern Washington and possibly northern Idaho. Roaring soils are of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Pend Oreille County Area, Washington, l981.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are 2 to 2 1/2 inches (possibly blacktail volcanic ash - Mt. St. Helens 'T') and a cambic horizon from 2 1/2 to 30 inches. The upper 12 inches of the mineral soil is estimated to have a moist bulk density of less than 1.0 g/cc, volcanic glass content of 30 to 60 percent, acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half of the acid-oxalate extractable iron of 1.0 to 2.0 percent, and 15-bar water retention of 5 to 10 percent for air dried samples. The solum from 14 to 30 inches is estimated to have volcanic glass content of 5 to 20 percent, acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half of the acid-oxalate iron of 0.4 to 1.0 percent and 15-bar water retention of 5 to 10 percent. Family particle-size is coarse-loamy, the calculated weighted average of sand is 47 to 67 percent, silt is 33 to 53 percent and clay is 0 to 2 percent. This 3/97 description reflects a change in classification due to Andisol Order from Medial over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, Andic Cryochrepts to Coarse-loamy, mixed, Andic Cryochrepts. Classification changed 1/00 from mixed Andic Cryochrepts to isotic Andic Eutrocryepts based on revision to Soil Taxonomy.
Further investigation is needed as to whether the E horizon is really a C or A horizon from ash and as to the possibility of a udic soil moisture regime based on the vegetation present and andic influence.
Depths to diagnostic horizons and features are measured from the to of the first mineral horizon.