LOCATION LEMONCREEK ORTentative Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, isotic, frigid Vitrandic Haploxerepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Lemoncreek ashy silt loam - forested, on a 35 percent southfacing slope at an elevation of 5,560 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oi--0 to 0.5 inch; slightly decomposed needles and twigs
A--0.5 to 2 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) ashy silt loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) dry; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine, and common medium roots; few very fine irregular and tubular pores; 10 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
Bw1--2 to 9 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/3) gravelly ashy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) dry; weak fine subangular blocky structure; soft, very friable, slight sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, common fine and medium, and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular and irregular pores; 25 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear irregular boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
Bw2--9 to 13 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) gravelly ashy loam, brown (7.5YR 5/4) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine, fine, medium and coarse roots; common very fine irregular and tubular pores; 25 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.4); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
2Eb--13 to 20 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) very gravelly sandy clay loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable; slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few fine, very fine and common medium roots; common very fine tubular and irregular, and few fine tubular pores; 30 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.4); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
2Bwb--20 to 31 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) very gravelly sandy clay loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry; weak fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable; moderately sticky and moderately plastic; few very fine and fine pores; 35 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 16 inches thick)
2R--31 inches; metavolcanic bedrock, serpentinitic
TYPE LOCATION: Grant County, Oregon
Section 30 (NE1/4, NE1/4, SW1/4), T. 10 S., R. 35 E.
Latitude: 44 degrees, 40 minutes, 07 seconds N.
Longitude: 118 degrees, 32 minutes, 43 seconds W.
UTM coordinates: zone 11; northing: 4,947,083; easting: 377,505; NAD27
USGS Quadrangle: Vinegar Hill
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil Temperature: frigid regime
Mean Annual Soil Temperature: 39 to 42 degrees F
Mean Summer Soil Temperature: 47 to 50 degrees F
Mean Winter Soil Temperature: 32 to 36 degrees F
Soil Moisture: xeric regime; dry 45 to 60 consecutive days in summer
Particle-size Control Section: from 10 inches below mineral soil surface to the lithic contact
clay content, average: 18 to 25 percent
rock fragment content, average: 45 to 85 percent
Diagnostic Horizons and Features:
vitrandic subgroup properties: upper boundary at the mineral surface, 9 to 14 inches thick
Al+1/2Fe (ammonium oxalate): 0.4 to 1.0 percent
P retention: 30 to 50 percent
0.02-2.0 mm fraction: 30 to 40 percent of fine earth
glass content in the 0.02-2.0mm fraction: 30 to 55 percent
cambic horizon: 7 to 12 inches thick
eluvial horizon, buried: 4 to 10 inches thick
cambic horizon, buried: 6 to 16 inches thick
lithic contact, depth below mineral soil surface: 20 to 40 inches
A horizon:
color, moist: 7.5YR 2.5/2, 3/2
color, dry: 7.5YR 4/2, 4/3; 10YR 5/3
texture: GR-ASHY-SIL, GR-ASHY-L, ASHY-SIL
clay content: 5 to 15 percent
rock fragment content: 10 to 30 percent
gravel: 10 to 30 percent
cobbles: 0 to 5 percent
reaction: slightly acid to neutral; pH: 6.1 to 7.3
Bw horizon; some pedons have an AB horizon:
color, moist: 5YR 3/4; 7.5YR 3/4, 4/3, 4/4
color, dry: 7.5YR 5/3, 5/4, 6/4
texture: GR-ASHY-L, GRV-ASHY-L, GR-ASHY-SIL, GRV-ASHY-SL
clay content: 8 to 18 percent
rock fragment content: 25 to 55 percent
gravel: 10 to 40 percent
cobbles: 0 to 15 percent
reaction: moderately acid to neutral; pH: 5.6 to 7.3
2Eb horizon:
color, moist: 7.5YR 4/4; 10YR 4/3, 4/4, 5/3
color, dry: 7.5YR 6/4; 10YR 6/4, 7/3
texture: GRV-L, GRX-L, STX-L, GRV-SCL
clay content: 18 to 25 percent
rock fragment content: 35 to 80 percent
gravel: 25 to 45 percent
cobbles: 10 to 30 percent
stones: 0 to 15 percent
reaction: moderately acid to neutral; pH: 5.6 to 7.3
2Bwb horizon; may include 2BCb horizon in some pedons:
color, moist: 7.5YR 3/4, 4/4; 10YR 4/3, 5/3
color, dry: 7.5YR 5/4; 10YR 5/3, 5/4, 6/3, 6/4, 7/3
texture: GRX-SL, CBX-L, CBX-SL, GRV-SCL, CBV-SL
clay content: 18 to 25 percent
rock fragment content: 50 to 85 percent
gravel: 25 to 50 percent
cobbles: 15 to 40 percent
stones: 0 to 10 percent
reaction: moderately acid to neutral; pH: 5.6 to 7.3
COMPETING SERIES:
Analulu - moderately deep to a lithic contact (argillite); minor volcanic ash influence in upper 7 to 14 inches has 5 to 20 percent glass; particle-size control section averages 8 to 15 percent clay
Ardenvoir - moderately deep to a paralithic contact (metasedimentary siltstone or quartzite); dry 45 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Blinn - moderately deep to a lithic contact (basalt); minor influence of volcanic ash in upper 7 to 14 inches with 5 to 20 percent glass
Brevco - moderately deep to a lithic contact (granite); minor volcanic ash influence in upper 7 to 14 inches has 5 to 20 percent glass; particle-size control section averages less than 18 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Coxit - very deep (colluvium and residuum from metasedimentary rocks); particle-size control section averages 8 to 18 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Easte - deep to a paralithic contact (weathered andesite or basalt); umbric epipedon 40 to 60 inches thick; particle-size control section is 10 to 18 percent clay; dry greater than 90 consecutive days in summer
Highhorn - deep to a lithic contact (argillite); particle-size control section averages 27 to 35 percent clay; dry for 45 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Huntrock - moderately deep to a lithic contact (argillite); particle-size control section averages 27 to 35 percent clay; dry 50 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Jimbluff - very deep (alluvium and till); particle-size control section averages 2 to 6 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Jumpe - very deep (colluvium from basalt); dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Kamela - moderately deep to a lithic contact (basalt); volcanic ash mixed in colluvium 7 to 14 inches thick with 20 to 40 percent volcanic glass; does not have buried 2Eb or 2Bwb horizons
Lekrem - deep and very deep (granitic colluvium and till); particle-size control section averages 3 to 8 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Longort - moderately deep to a densic contact (till)
Noil - moderately deep to a paralithic contact (schist); 2 to 4 percent mica flakes throughout
Ontrail - very deep (colluvium and till); particle-size control section averages 5 to 12 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Radercreek - deep to a lithic contact (sandstone); minor influence of volcanic ash in upper 7 to 24 inches has 5 to 20 percent glass; particle-size control section is less than 18 percent clay; dry for 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Redpeak - moderately deep to a lithic contact (sandstone); particle-size control section averages 10 to 20 percent clay; soils have hues of 5YR and 2.5YR; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Santop - moderately deep to a lithic contact (sandstone); minor volcanic ash influence in upper 7 to 14 inches has 5 to 20 percent glass; particle-size control section averages 5 to 15 percent clay; dry for 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Seeburg - very deep (tuffaceous sandstone colluvium); particle-size control section averages 4 to 7 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Thout - moderately deep to a lithic contact (andesite); minor volcanic ash influence in upper 7 to 14 inches has 5 to 20 percent glass; particle-size control section averages 4 to 14 percent clay; dry 60 to 75 consecutive days in summer
Threecabin - deep to a lithic contact (basalt); volcanic ash mixed in colluvium in upper 24 to 44 inches has 15 to 30 percent glass; particle-size control section averages 11 to 17 percent clay
Warfield - deep and ver deep (40 to 80 inches) to a lithic contact (granitic rock); particle-size control section averages 7 to 11 percent clay; moderately acid or strongly acid in substratum
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform: surface eroding backslope of uplifted metavolcanic (serpentinitic) exotic terranes
Slope gradient: 0 to 60 percent
Parent material: volcanic ash mantle mixed with colluvium over colluvium
Lithology: metavolcanic (serpentinitic) bedrock
Elevation: 5,000 to 6,000 feet
Climate: cold, wet winters; warm, dry summers
Mean annual precipitation: 29 to 41 inches
Mean annual air temperature: 37 to 40 degrees F.
Frost-free period: 30 to 70 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Blackgulch: on moderately dissected backslopes, shallow to bedrock, with a mollic epipedon, minor influence of volcanic ash under ponderosa pine or Douglas-fir forest with elk sedge or common snowberry
Cotay: on backslopes; moderately deep to bedrock; mantle of mixed ash and loess over buried, clayey-skeletal argillic horizon; under grand fir, Douglas-fir, birchleaf spiraea, and pinegrass
Deck: on plateau crests and backslopes; moderately deep to lithic contact; mollic epipedon with a mixed mantle of volcanic ash and loamy-skeletal cambic; under Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, common snowberry, mallow ninebark, pinegrass and elk sedge
Kingbolt: on ridges, benches and shoulder slopes, moderately deep to bedrock with a thick volcanic ash mantle under grand fir and Douglas-fir forest
Payraise: on backslopes; in very deep colluvium with thin volcanic ash mantle and loamy-skeletal argillic horizon under grand fir, pinegrass and birchleaf spiraea
Slaughterhouse: on backslopes and summits, deep to bedrock with a thick volcanic ash mantle, an argillic horizon and 18 to 27 percent clay in the particle-size control section under grand fir forest
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage: well drained
Permeability: moderate
USE AND VEGETATION:
Use: timber production, livestock grazing, recreation, wildlife habitat, watershed
Native vegetation: grand fir, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, birchleaf spiraea, pinemat manzanita, common snowberry, Oregon grape, silky lupine, white hawkweed, heartleaf arnica, woods strawberry, pinegrass and elk sedge
Plant association: ABGR/CARU (grand fir/pinegrass); may include ABGR/CAGE (grand fir/elk sedge).
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: MLRA 43c; South Central Blue Mountains, Oregon
Extent: small
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES PROPOSED: Malheur National Forest, Oregon; 2008. Name is from a creek on the Vinegar Hill quadrangle.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
ochric epipedon: 0.5 to 2 inches; A horizon
cambic horizon: 2 to 13 inches; Bw1, Bw2 horizons
vitrandic subgroup properties (mixed ash): 0.5 to 13 inches; A, Bw1, Bw2 horizons
eluvial horizon, buried: 13 to 20 inches; 2Eb horizons
cambic horizon, buried: 20 to 31 inches; 2Bwb horizon
lithic contact: 31 inches; 2R horizon
particle-size control section: 10.5 to 31 inches; Bw2, 2Eb, 2Bwb horizons