LOCATION TOVAME                  OR

Tentative Series
IRD. RAW/JLW/DAL
03/2013

TOVAME SERIES

The Tovame series consists of very deep, somewhat poorly drained soils, formed in alluvium from mixed rocks on terraces on mountain valley floors. Slopes are 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 25 inches and mean annual temperature about 43 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Cumulic Hapludolls

TYPICAL PEDON: Tovame silt loam, moist meadow, on 0 percent slope at elevation of 4,150 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

A1--0 to 6 inches; black (10YR 2/1) silt loam, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many fine and very fine roots; common fine irregular pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.5); clear smooth boundary.

A2--6 to 12 inches; very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; soft, friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine, and few medium roots; few fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary.

A3--12 to 22 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and very fine, and few medium roots; few fine tubular pores; neutral (pH 6.6); clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizons is 16 to 25 inches)

Bw--22 to 35 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) fine sandy loam, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) dry; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine and very fine roots; neutral (pH 7.0); gradual smooth boundary. (6 to 15 inches thick)

C1--35 to 50 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; few fine, faint strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) redox concentrations and common medium, distinct light gray (Gley 1 7/N) redox depletions; single grain; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few fine roots; neutral (pH 7.0); clear smooth boundary. (7 to 25 inches thick)

C2--50 to 61 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) very gravelly loamy sand, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 35 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.0).

TYPE LOCATION: Baker County, Oregon
Section 28 (SE 1/4, SE 1/4, SW 1/4) T. 10 S., R. 36 E.
Latitude: 44 degrees, 39 minutes, 34 seconds north
Longitude: 118 degrees, 18 minutes, 15 seconds west
UTM coordinates: zone 11; 4945730 northing; 396601 easting; NAD27
USGS Quadrangle: Whitney

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Temperature: frigid regime
Mean Annual Soil Temperature: 44 to 47 degrees F
Mean Summer Soil Temperature: 53 to 56 degrees F
Mean Winter Soil Temperature: 34 to 38 degrees F
Soil Moisture: udic regime; dry 30 to 45 consecutive days in summer

Particle-size Control Section: 10 to 40 inches
Clay content, average: 9 to 18 percent
Rock fragment content, average: 0 to 15 percent

Diagnostic Horizons and Features:
mollic epipedon: 16 to 25 inches thick
cambic horizon: 6 to 15 inches thick
aquic conditions, depth from mineral surface: 30 to 40 inches

A horizons:
color, moist: 2.5Y 2/0; 10YR 2/1, 3/1, 3/2
color, dry: 10YR 4/1, 4/2, 5/1, 5/2
texture: SIL
clay content: 10 to 18 percent
reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline; pH: 6.6 to 7.8

C1 horizon: (Bw horizon in some pedons)
color, moist: 10YR 4/2, 5/2
color, dry: 10YR 6/2, 6/4, 7/2, 7/3
texture: SIL, FSL, SL
clay content: 10 to 18 percent
rock fragment: 0 to 15 percent
gravel: 0 to 15 percent
reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline; pH: 6.6 to 7.8

C1 horizon:
color, moist: 10YR 4/2, 5/2, 5/3, 5/4
color, dry: 10YR 6/2, 7/1, 7/2, 7/3, 7/4, 8/2
texture: SL, GR-L
clay content: 5 to 15 percent
rock fragment content: 0 to 20 percent
gravel: 0 to 20 percent
reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline; pH 6.6 to 7.8

C2 horizon:
color, moist: 10YR 3/3, 3/4, 4/2, 5/2, 5/3
color, dry: 10YR 5/2, 6/2, 7/3, 7/6, 8/2
texture: GRV-LS, SL, GR-SL
clay content: 5 to 12 percent
rock fragment content: 0 to 45 percent
gravel: 0 to 35 percent
cobbles: 0 to 10 percent
reaction: neutral to slightly alkaline; pH 6.6 to 7.8
organic matter: 0.5 to 1.0 percent

COMPETING SERIES:
Firetower (MT): has a loam or silt loam substratum
Elkriver (MN): has a coarse-loamy mantle of material 25 to 44 inches thick over a sandy substratum

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: terraces on mountain valley floors
Slope gradient: 0 to 5 percent
Parent material: alluvium
Lithology: mixed
Elevation: 3,600 to 4,200 feet
Climate: cold, wet winters and warm, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation: 20 to 30 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 42 to 44 degrees F
Frostfree period: 30 to 60 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Bandarrow: poorly drained soils having aquic conditions at depths of 10 to 16 inches in wet mountain meadows and floodplains
Dardry: on well drained high terraces and mountain valley toeslopes with loamy-skeletal particle-size control section, and under conifer forest with udic moisture regime
Gulliford: on moderately well drained floodplains and low terraces, with sandy-skeletal substratum and oxyaquic conditions within 20 inches, and under moist meadow vegetation
Melloe: poorly drained soils having aquic conditions at depths of 10 to 18 inches; with loamy-skeletal particle-size control section; under wet meadow vegetation on floodplains
Rebarrow: on well drained high terraces of mountain valley floors, with thick volcanic ash mantle, argillic horizon, ashy over loamy-skeletal particle-size control section, and udic moisture regime under moist grand fir forest;
Witknee: somewhat poorly drained soils having aquic conditions at depths of 20 to 30 inches under wet meadow vegetation on terraces

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: somewhat poorly drained
Permeability: moderate in surface horizons and moderately rapid in substratum

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: watershed, wildlife habitat, livestock grazing and recreation
Native vegetation: shrubby cinquefoil, aster, blueleaf strawberry, sedges, Kentucky bluegrass and timothy
Plant Association: POPR (Kentucky bluegrass); or POPR/PHPR3 (Kentucky bluegrass/common timothy)

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon; MLRA 10
Extent: small

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

SERIES PROPOSED: Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Oregon 2007. The name is coined.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
mollic epipedon: 0 to 22 inches
cambic horizon: 22 to 35 inches
particle-size control section: 10 to 40 inches
aquic conditions: 35 to 50 inches
cumulic feature: organic carbon more than 0.3 percent inferred from alluvial parent material and dark colors

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.