LOCATION SHELTON            WA
Established Series
Rev. CJM/LDG/JJR
09/2004

SHELTON SERIES


The Shelton series consists of moderately deep, moderately well drained soils that formed in glacial till. Shelton soils are on undulating to rolling glacial moraines. The mean annual precipitation is 65 inches and the mean annual air temperature is about 50 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Haploxerands

TYPICAL PEDON: Shelton very gravelly sandy loam, forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

01 & 02--1 inch to 0; decomposed needles, moss, grass roots; (pH 4.8). (1/2 to 1 1/2 inches thick)

A1--0 to 3 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/2) very gravelly sandy loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; about 60 percent fine gravel; many fine dark brown concretions; many coarse, medium and fine roots; strongly acid (pH 5.3); abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)

B21cn--3 to 9 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry; weak fine granular structure; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; about 60 percent gravel; many fine dark brown concretions; many coarse, medium and fine roots; strongly acid (pH 5.3); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 12 inches thick)

B22cn--9 to 18 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry; weak fine granular structure; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; about 60 percent gravel; many fine dark brown concretions; common medium and fine roots; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

B3cn--18 to 27 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy loam; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry; single grained; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; about 50 percent gravel; many dark brown concretions; common fine roots, many at lower boundary; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 12 inches thick)

Csim--27 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very gravelly sandy loam, light olive gray (5Y 6/2) dry; massive; extremely hard, weakly cemented; very compact glacial till; 65 percent gravel; strongly acid (pH 5.3). (Many feet thick)

TYPE LOCATION: Mason County, Washington; about 11 miles west of Shelton; NW1/4 NE1/4 section 10, T.20N., R.5W., WM.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to the Csim horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Rock fragments in the control section exceed 40 percent and average less than 75 percent. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 49 to 53 degrees F.

The A1 horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR moist, 7.5YR or 10YR dry, value of 3 or 4 moist and chroma of 2 or 3 moist or dry. It is very gravelly sandy loam or very gravelly loam.

The Bcn horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR moist, 7.5YR or 10YR dry, value of 3 or 4 moist and chroma of 3 or 4 moist and dry. It is very gravelly sandy loam, very gravelly loam or extremely gravelly sandy loam.

The Csim horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, and value of 5 or 6 moist or dry.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alderwood, Dabob, Hoodsport and Sinclair series. Alderwood soils are medium acid in the B horizon. Dabob soils are slightly acid or medium acid throughout. Hoodsport soils lack an A horizon. Sinclair soils have an A2 horizon 2 to 4 inches thick.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Shelton soils are on undulating to rolling glacial till. Elevation ranges from 100 to 800 feet. The soils formed in glacial till. The mean annual precipitation is about 50 to 70 inches. The mean January temperature is about 38 degrees F.; the mean July temperature is about 63 degrees F.; and the frost free season is about 170 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Delphi and Grove soils. Delphi soils lack a duripan within depth of 40 inches. Grove soils are sandy, skeletal.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained; medium runoff; rapid permeability above the duripan and very slow in the duripan.

USE AND VEGETATION: Used mostly for timber production with a few areas as pasture. Native understory is Douglas fir with some western hemlock, western red cedar and red alder. Understory is salal, vine maple, huckleberry, blackberry and brachenfern.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central Western Washington. Shelton soils are of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Mason County, Washington, 1953.

ADDITIONAL DATA: This profile is S50-Wn-23-3 having Riverside lab data. S50-Wn-23-4 is also Shelton series.

REMARKS: Classification updated and nomenclature of Bsim (formerly Csim) only changed 4/94.


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.