LOCATION YANKEEWELL              OR

Established Series
Rev. CWL-JVC-JBF
12/2022

YANKEEWELL SERIES

The Yankeewell series consists of shallow to a duripan, well drained soils that formed in loess derived from mixed rocks over residuum derived from basalt. Yankeewell soils are on plateaus and hills. Slopes are 2 to 20 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 280 mm and the mean annual temperature is about 7 degrees C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid, shallow Xeric Natridurids

TYPICAL PEDON: Yankeewell very cobbly sandy loam--on a south facing slope of 2 percent at an elevation of 1,466 meters--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)

A--0 to 8 cm; brown (10YR 5/3) very cobbly sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine and few fine roots; common fine and common medium interstitial pores; 20 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0); abrupt smooth boundary. (5 or 8 cm thick)

E--8 to 15 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly loam, dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) moist; weak medium platy structure parting to moderate medium granular; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine, common fine, and few medium roots; many fine and many medium vesicular pores; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 15 cm thick)

2Btnk--15 to 28 cm; pale brown (10YR 6/3) clay loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; weak medium prismatic structure parting to strong medium subangular blocky; hard, firm, moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine, few fine, and few medium roots; few fine and few medium tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; secondary carbonates finely disseminated throughout; slightly effervescent; strongly alkaline (pH 8.8); clear smooth boundary. (10 to 15 cm thick)

2Bqkm1--28 to 46 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/3) cemented material, very pale brown (10YR 7/4) moist; strong medium platy structure; extremely hard, very firm; few very fine and few fine roots in widely spaced fractures; few very fine and few fine tubular pores; moderately to strongly cemented by opaline silica; secondary carbonates segregated in filaments and as few fine irregular coats on tops and bottoms of peds; strongly effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); clear smooth boundary. (5 to 20 cm thick)

2Bqkm2--46 to 64 cm; very pale brown (10YR 8/2) cemented material, very pale brown (10YR 7/3) moist; strong medium platy structure; very rigid; indurated by opaline silica; thin laminar caps of opal on tops of peds; secondary carbonates segregated as common medium irregular coats on bottoms of peds; violently effervescent; very strongly alkaline (pH 9.2); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 25 cm thick)

2R--64 cm; hard, unweathered fractured basalt.

TYPE LOCATION: Lake County, Oregon; along a jeep trail about 3.25 miles north of the Paisley to Alkali Lake Road and 3 miles east of Sharp Top; approximately 2,000 feet north and 2,100 feet west of the southeast corner of section 36, T. 31 S., R. 19 E.; USGS Sharp Top 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees 50 minutes 24 seconds N and longitude 120 degrees 25 minutes 22 seconds W; NAD 83.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture: Usually moist in winter and spring; dry in summer and fall; aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature: 7 to 8 degrees C.
Depth to base of natric horizon: 25 to 50 cm.
Depth to duripan: 25 to 50 cm.
Depth to bedrock: 46 to 66 cm to a lithic contact.

Particle-size control section - Clay content: Averages 24 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: Averages 5 to 25 percent, mainly gravel and cobbles. Lithology of fragments is basalt.

A or A1 horizon
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Reaction: Slightly alkaline through strongly alkaline.

A2 horizon (when present)
Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4 moist.
Texture: Fine sandy loam or cobbly sandy loam.
Clay content: 10 to 16 percent.
Rock fragments: 10 to 25 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

E horizon
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Texture: Fine sandy loam, loam, gravelly loam, or cobbly sandy loam.
Clay content: 12 to 24 percent.
Rock fragments: 10 to 25 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.

2Btnk horizon
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 6 or 7 dry, 4 or 5 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry or moist.
Structure: Prismatic parting to subangular blocky or angular blocky.
Texture: Clay loam, gravelly clay loam, or cobbly clay loam.
Clay content: 27 to 35 percent.
Rock fragments: 0 to 20 percent.
Reaction: Moderately alkaline or strongly alkaline.
Salinity (EC): 4 to 8 mmhos/cm.
Sodicity (SAR): 13 to 40.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Some pedons lack carbonates in easily seen segregated forms, but have finely disseminated secondary carbonates throughout horizon matrix; some pedons have carbonates segregated as filaments or few fine coats on faces of peds.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 3 percent.

2Bqkm1 or 2Bqkm horizons
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 6 through 8 dry, 5 through 7 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry and moist.
Cementation: Moderately cemented to indurated by secondary silica. When only one subhorizon (2Bqkm) occurs as the duripan, it is very strongly cemented or indurated.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Occurs as filaments and few fine coats on faces of peds.
Calcium carbonate equivalent: 1 to 5 percent.

2Bqkm2 horizon (when present)
Hue: 7.5YR or 10YR.
Value: 7 or 8 dry, 6 through 8 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4, dry and moist.
Cementation: Very strongly cemented or indurated by secondary silica.
Identifiable secondary carbonates: Occurs as few or common fine or medium coats on faces of peds.

COMPETING SERIES: There are currently no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Yankeewell soils are on plateaus and hills. They typically occur on summit and shoulder positions. These soils formed in loess derived from mixed rocks over residuum derived from basalt. These soils occur downwind of a salty playa (Summer Lake) and frequently receive new deposits of loess high in sodium salts. Slopes are 2 to 20 percent. Elevations range from 1,310 to 1,850 meters feet, but are typically 1,495 to 1,590 meters. The highest elevations are on Diablo Peak. The climate is semiarid with cold, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 250 to 300 mm, the mean annual temperature is 6 to 7 degrees C, and the frost-free period is 50 to 80 days.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Diablopeak, Lonegrave, and Noidee soils. Diablopeak soils are clayey, shallow to lithic contacts, and have a typic aridic moisture regime. Lonegrave soils are loamy-skeletal, moderately deep to lithic contacts, have cambic horizons, and a mesic temperature regime. Noidee soils are clayey and shallow to lithic contacts.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained; very high surface runoff; moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity.

USE AND VEGETATION: Yankeewell soils are used for livestock grazing. The present vegetation is mainly Wyoming big sagebrush, shadscale, bluebunch wheatgrass, and bottlebrush squirreltail.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: South-central Oregon. These soils are moderately extensive. MLRA 23.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Davis, California.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County (Northern Part), Oregon, 2006. The name is from a waterhole in the area.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 15 cm (A and E horizons).
Albic horizon - The zone from 8 to 15 cm (E horizon).
Natric horizon - The zone from 15 to 28 cm (2Btnk horizon).
Duripan - The zone from 28 to 64 cm (2Bqkm1 and 2Bqkm2 horizons).
Identifiable secondary carbonates - The zone from 28 to 64 cm (2Bqkm1 and 2Bqkm2 horizons).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 64 cm to underlying hard bedrock (2R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from the soil surface to 28 cm (A, E, and 2Btnk horizons).

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.