LOCATION SAAR WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial-skeletal, amorphic Andic Humicryods
TYPICAL PEDON: Saar gravelly silt loam - on a 35 percent west-facing slope under a coniferous forest of western hemlock and Pacific silver fir. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted. All textures are apparent field textures.)
0i--4 to 1 inches; partially decomposed branches and needles. (2 to 6 inches thick)
0a--1 inch to 0; decomposed forest litter. (1 to 3 inches thick)
E--0 to 2 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/2) silt loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 7/2) dry; massive; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; few very fine irregular pores; 10 percent angular pebbles; NaF pH less than 9.2; strongly acid (pH 5.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bhs--2 to 12 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) gravelly silt loam, strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) dark brown (5YR 3/2) organic coatings on faces of peds, weak medium subangular blocky and weak granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic, weakly smeary; few very fine and fine roots; few fine irregular pores; 20 percent angular pebbles; NaF pH 9.6; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); abrupt irregular boundary. (8 to 11 inches thick)
Bs--12 to 18 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) very gravelly silt loam, brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) dry; weak medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, and weakly smeary; few very fine and fine roots; common fine and medium irregular pores; 60 percent angular pebbles; NaF pH 12.0; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear irregular boundary. (5 to 11 inches thick)
BC--18 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely gravelly loam, pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) dry; weak fine granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic, weakly smeary; common fine irregular pores; 65 percent angular pebbles; NaF pH 11.5; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (6 to 14 inches thick)
2Cd--26 to 60 inches, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) dense glacial till that breaks to extremely gravelly loam, pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) dry; massive; very hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; 70 percent angular pebbles; NaF pH 11.0; strongly acid (pH 5.4)
TYPE LOCATION: Skagit County, Washington; 750 feet south and 100 feet west of the northeast corner, sec. 19 T. 36 N., R. 8 E.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 39 to 40 degrees F. Depth to the paralithic contact with dense glacial till is 20 to 40 inches. Thickness of the solum and thickness of volcanic ash influence is 20 to 36 inches. Rock fragments in the particle-size control section ranges from 35 to 60 percent by weighted average. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout.
The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 through 6 moist, 5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry.
The Bhs horizon matrix has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 through 5 moist, 4 through 6 dry, and chroma of 2 through 6 moist and dry. Organic stains have hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value of 2 or 3 and chroma of 1 or 2 moist and dry. It is 6 to 8 percent organic carbon. It is gravelly silt loam, gravelly loam, very gravelly silt loam, or very gravelly loam with 20 to 40 percent rock fragments.
The Bs and BC horizons have hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 3 through 5 moist and 5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 2 through 6 moist and dry. It is very gravelly silt loam, very gravelly loam, or extremely gravelly loam with 40 to 65 percent rock fragments.
Some pedons have a C horizon overlying the dense till.
The 2Cd horizon is dense glacial till that breaks to very gravelly loam extremely gravelly loam, or extremely gravelly sandy loam. It has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 through 6 moist, 5 through 7 dry, and chroma of 1 through 6 moist and dry.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Deming, Hinker, Karta, and Shuksan, soils and the similar Humskel, thader, and Stirrup soils. Deming and Stirrup soils are more than 40 inches deep. Hinker, Humskel, and Thader soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a lithic contact. Shuksan soils have more than 8 percent organic carbon in the upper part of the Bhs horizon and are extremely acid in the E and Bhs1 horizon. GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Saar soils formed in volcanic ash, colluvium, and glacial till. The soils are on glacially modified mountain sides and have slopes of 3 to 65 percent. The elevations are mostly from 2,600 to 3,800 feet, but some are as high as 4,500 feet.. Mean annual precipitation is 85 to ll0 inches. Snow cover lasts from November through May. The average July temperature is 56 degrees F; the average January temperature is 28 degrees F. The mean annual temperature is about 41 degrees F. The frost-free season is 90 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Clendenen, Edfro, Getchell, Hartnit, Kindy, Klawatti, Potchub, and Springsteen soils and the competing Hinker and Humskel soils. Clendenen and Edfro soils have a paralithic contact with dense glacial till at 14 to 20 inches. Getchell and Kindy soils have less than 6 percent organic carbon in the upper 10 cm of the spodic horizon. Hartnit, Klawatti, and Springsteen soils are moderately deep to a lithic contact. Potchub soils are fine-loamy.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderate permeability in the solum to the dense glacial till and very slow through it. A perched water table is at 1.5 to 3 feet from December through May.
USE AND VEGETATION: Used for woodland, watershed, and wildlife habitat. Native vegetation includes western hemlock, mountain hemlock, Pacific silver fir, and western redcedar, with an undergrowth of currant, tall blue huckleberry, clubmoss, deer fern, bunchberry dogwood, red huckleberry, longtube twinflower, and queencup beadlily.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northwestern Washington. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Skagit County, Washington, 1981.
REMARKS: Classification only changed 4/94 because of recent amendments to Soil Taxonomy. This draft reflects a change in classification from loamy-skeletal, mixed Humic Cryorthods to medial-skeletal Andic Humicryods. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil are an albic horizon from the mineral surface to 2 inches, a spodic horizon 16 inches thick with more than 6 percent organic carbon in the upper 10 inches, and a paralithic contact with dense glacial till at 26 inches.