LOCATION WADELL WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial, ferrihydritic, mesic Alic Hapludands
TYPICAL PEDON: Wadell gravelly loam, forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
01--1 to 2 inches; twigs, needles and leaves.
02--1 inch to 0; decomposing remains of needles, leaves, and wood fragments.
A1--0 to 11 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) gravelly loam, brown (7.5YR 4/4) dry; moderate fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many coarse, medium and fine roots; 25 percent waterworn pebbles and 10 percent shot size concretions; very strongly acid (pH 4.6); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 12 inches thick)
B21--11 to 26 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) gravelly silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 3/4) gravelly silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) dry; strong fine angular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common medium and fine roots; 25 percent waterworn pebbles and 10 percent shot size concretions; about 20 percent clay; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); clear smooth boundary. (12 to 16 inches thick)
B22--26 to 42 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) gravelly silt loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) dry; strong medium angular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common medium and fine roots; 15 percent waterworn pebbles, including few angular basalt fragments; about 20 percent clay; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (14 to 20 inches thick)
IIC--42 to 60 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) very gravelly sandy loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; single grained; loose; few fine roots; 40 percent pebbles and 20 percent basalt cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Mason County, Washington; 9 miles south of Shelton on Kamilche Road, 200 feet south of county, along east road; north 1/4 corner section 34, T.19N., R.4W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The solum is more than 40 inches thick. The soils are very strongly acid and the acidity decreases with increasing depth. The mean annual soil temperature ranges from 48 to 51 degrees F. The control section contains 18 to 30 percent clay and 15 to 30 percent gravel with few cobbles.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry, and chroma of 2 or 3 moist, 3 or 4 dry. It is gravelly loam or loam.
The B2 horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 3 or 4 moist, 4 through 6 dry. It averages gravelly silt loam and contains lenses of gravelly sandy loam, silty clay loam, or gravelly clay loam in some pedons.
The IIC horizon consists of stratified layers with texture ranging from very gravelly loamy sand to silty clay.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Barbourville, Bohannon, Brightwood, Hembre, Horeb, Le Bar, Meda, Stossel, and Preacher series. Barbourville soils have sola 26 to 40 inches thick. Bohannon and Brightwood soils are underlain by bedrock at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Hembre soils have less than 15 percent rock fragments to a depth of about 30 inches and are underlain by bedrock at depths of 40 to 44 inches. Horeb soils have mottles at depths of 24 to 36 inches. Le Bar soils have a fine, silty control section. Meda soils are medium acid throughout. Preacher soils have less than 20 percent rock fragments in the solum and have bedrock at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Stossel soils have 27 to 35 percent clay in the control section. (See remarks)
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wadell soils are on nearly level to sloping benches and fans at elevations from near sea level to 800 feet. They formed in gravelly glacial sediments modified by sediments derived from areas of basalt. The annual precipitation is 70 to 100 inches with relatively cool summers and mild, wet winters. The mean January temperature is about 38 degrees F. and the mean July temperature is about 63 degrees F. The frost free season (32 degrees F.) is 150 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Delphi, Grove, Nordby, Schneider and Tebo soils. Delphi, Nordby and Schneider soils have a loamy, skeletal control section. Also, Delphi soils have a xeric moisture regime. Grove soils have a sandy, skeletal control section. Tebo soils have an ochric epipedon and are medial.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; slow runoff; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Woodland, hay, and pasture. Native woodland cover consists of Douglas fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, and red alder with an understory of salal, huckleberry, and swordfern.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central western Washington. Series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Thurston County, Washington, 1941.
REMARKS: Classification only changed 4/94 because of recent amendments to Soil Taxonomy.
The differentiae between the Stossel and Wadell series need further attention.