LOCATION TEKISON WA
Established Series
Rev. JPE/RJE/KWH/RWL
09/2019
TEKISON SERIES
Landscape--mountains, plateaus, hills, canyonlands
Landform--broad ridgetops, mountain slopes, benches, smooth summits, hillslopes, canyons
Slope--0 to 65 percent
Parent material--residuum and colluvium derived from basalt mixed with a minor amount of loess
Mean annual precipitation--about 460 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about 8 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--xeric
Soil temperature regime--mesic
Soil moisture subclass--typic
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Clayey-skeletal, smectitic, mesic Vertic Palexerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Tekison stony loam, forested
Oe--0 to 3 cm; partially decomposed forest litter
A--3 to 20 cm; stony loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) dry, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine, medium, and coarse roots; common fine and many very fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel and 5 percent stones on surface; moderately acid (pH 5.8); abrupt smooth boundary
AB--20 to 38 cm; extremely cobbly clay loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) dry, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few coarse and common medium and fine roots; few fine and many very fine tubular pores; 25 percent gravel, 35 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; moderately acid (pH 6.0); abrupt smooth boundary
Bt1--38 to 69 cm; extremely cobbly clay, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) dry, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, moderately sticky and very plastic; common medium and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; many prominent clay films on faces of peds; 45 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; moderately acid (pH 5.8); abrupt smooth boundary
Bt2--69 to 117 cm; extremely gravelly clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, moderately sticky and very plastic; few fine and medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; continuous prominent clay films on faces of peds; 50 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; moderately acid (pH 5.8); clear smooth boundary
Bt3--117 to 155 cm; extremely gravelly clay, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; strong medium angular blocky structure; very hard, very firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few fine and medium roots; common very fine tubular pores; many prominent clay films on faces of peds; 50 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; moderately acid (pH 6.0)
TYPE LOCATION: Kittitas County, Washington; about 16 km north of Ellensburg; about 60 m south and 30 m west of the northeast corner of section 12, T. 19 N., R. E., Willamette Meridian
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Moisture control section--usually moist, but dry 75 to 90 consecutive days following summer solstice in most years
Thickness of mollic epipedon--25 to 50 cm
Assumed organic matter content--less than 1 percent below a depth of 50 cm
Mean annual soil temperature--8 to 9 degrees C
Particle-size control section--40 to 55 percent clay in fine-earth fraction; 40 to 70 percent rock fragments, by volume
A horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR
Value--3 to 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist
Chroma--2 or 3 moist or dry
Reaction--5.6 to 7.3
Thickness--10 to 41 cm
AB horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR
Value--4 or 5 dry
Chroma--2 or 3 moist, 2 to 4 dry
Texture--gravelly loam, gravelly clay loam, very cobbly loam, extremely cobbly clay loam, very cobbly clay loam
Clay content--20 to 35 percent
Reaction--5.6 to 6.5
Thickness--18 to 25 cm
Bt horizon
Hue--10YR, 7.5YR, 5YR
Value--4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma--2 to 4 moist, 3 or 4 dry
Texture--very cobbly clay, extremely gravelly clay, extremely cobbly clay, very gravelly clay
Clay content--40 to 55 percent
Reaction--5.6 to 6.5
Combined thickness--greater than 84 cm
COMPETING SERIES:
Kusipushtay--100 to 150 cm (deep) to a lithic contact (basalt)
Wipple--dry more than 90 days following the summer solstice
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Elevation--240 to 1350 m
Climate--warm, dry summers; cool, moist winters
Mean annual precipitation--380 to 640 mm
Mean January air temperature--about -4 degrees C
Mean July air temperature--about 20 degrees C
Mean annual air temperature--about 8 to 10 degrees C
Frost-free season--120 to 150 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Clint--50 to 100 cm (moderately deep) to a lithic contact (basalt); on uplands
Meystre--fine-loamy particle-size class; on uplands
Rock Creek--20 to 50 cm (very shallow, shallow) to a lithic contact (basalt); on ridgetops and plateaus
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--well drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--moderately high above the argillic horizon, moderately low through the argillic horizon
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--timber production, livestock grazing, recreation, wildlife habitat, watershed
Native vegetation--mainly ponderosa pine, scattered Douglas-fir, pinegrass, elk sedge, lupine, spirea, common snowberry, currant, creambush oceanspray, Oregon grape, and scattered antelope bitterbrush
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Washington; MLRA 6; small extent
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Yakima County, Washington; 1979
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in this pedon
*Mollic epipedon--zone from 3 to 38 cm
*Argillic horizon--zone from 38 to 155 cm; more than 20 percent more clay (absolute) than in the AB horizon; abrupt boundary
*Particle-size control section--zone from 38 to 88 cm
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.