LOCATION CARIBEL IDEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Caribel silt loam - on a 5 percent south-facing slope in coniferous forest at 3,280 feet elevation. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oi--1 to 0.8 inch; slightly decomposed and undecomposed needles, cones, and woody material; strongly acid (pH 5.2); abrupt wavy boundary.
Oe--0.8 to 0.2 inch; matted, moderately decomposed needles, leaves, cones, and woody material; fungi in places; strongly acid (pH 5.4); abrupt wavy boundary.
Oa--0.2 inch to 0; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) and very dark brown (10YR 2/2) matted well-decomposed organic matter and common partly decomposed needles and woody material, very dark brown (10YR 1/2) moist; strong very fine and fine granular structure; slight content of white fungi in places; strongly acid (pH 5.1); abrupt wavy boundary.
A1--0 to 2 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/3) rubbed, dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2), dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) rubbed, moist; top one-fourth inch in darker and grayer than rest of horizon; very weak thin platy structure and moderate to strong fine and very fine granular; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fibrous and fine roots; many micro irregular pores; few rock hard pellets or concretions 1 to 2 mm in diameter; fungi in places; peds do not slake in water after 5 minutes; moderately acid (pH 5.7); clear wavy boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
A2--2 to 8 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) silt loam, reddish brown (5YR 5/4) rubbed; reddish brown (5YR 3/3) moist; weak thin platy structure parting to strong, very fine and fine granular; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many fibrous and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; moderately acid (pH 5.6); clear wavy boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 13 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) (5YR 5/4 rubbed), silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) (5YR 3/4 rubbed) moist; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine and medium and few coarse roots; common very fine tubular pores; faint patchy clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few black concretions; few weathered basalt very fine gravel 2-5mm in diameter; moderately acid (pH 5.6); gradual wavy boundary. (4 to 9 inches thick)
Bt2--13 to 24 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) (brown, 7.5YR 5/4 rubbed), silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) moist; moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; common fibrous and few fine and medium roots; common very fine and few fine and medium tubular pores; patchy clay films on faces of peds and in pores; few strongly weathered, very fine basalt gravel; common black concretions; very few black stains on faces of peds; moderately acid (pH 5.8) gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 14 inches thick)
Bt3--24 to 57 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) (brown, 7.5YR 5/4 rubbed) silty clay loam, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) (dark brown, 7.5YR 3/4 rubbed) moist; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, friable, sticky and plastic; few fibrous, fine and medium roots; many very fine and fine tubular pores; patchy clay films on faces of peds and in pores; common black stains on faces peds; many weathered basalt fragments; many 0.5-2 mm concretions; strongly acid (pH 5.4) gradual, wavy boundary. (11 to 27 inches thick)
Bt4--57 to 73 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) fine gravelly silty clay loam, reddish brown (5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; very few fibrous and fine roots; common very fine tubular pores; distinct patchy clay films on vertical surfaces of peds and in pores; few black stains on faces of peds; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 20 inches thick)
R--73 inches; weathered basalt bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: About 3.5 miles west of Glenwood and 1 mile eastward from T junction of Kamiah and Kidder Ridge roads; along logging road 840 feet north of Glenwood gravel road; 73 feet south of T road to west and 50 feet east of the logging road; about 1,200 feet north and 500 feet east of the southwest corner sec. 36, T. 34 N., R. 4 E., Kooskia Area, Idaho County, Idaho; Latitude - 46 degrees, 14 minutes, 24 seconds North; Longitude - 115 degrees, 54 minutes, 30 seconds West; USGS - Kooskia Quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Average annual soil temperature - 47 to 49 degrees F
A horizon
Hue - 5YR or 7.5YR
Value - 4 or 5 dry, 2 through 4 moist
Chroma - 2 through 4, dry or moist
Reaction - strongly acid through slightly acid
Bt horizon
Hue - 5YR or 7.5YR
Value - 4 or 5 dry, 3 or 4 moist
Chroma - 3 or 4, dry or moist
Textures - SICL, CL, GRF-SICL
Clay content - 28 to 35 percent
Rock fragment content - 0 to 30 percent
Reaction - very strongly acid through moderately acid
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Athol, Beech(T), Belton, Bookwood, Breknock, Carpenter, Cateache, Culleoka, Door, Dormont, Duffield, Dumfries, Ebbing(T), Frondorf, Grayford, Greencreek(T), Hayter, Kell(T), Lamotte, Legore, Loudonville, Manassas, Morrison, Myerville, Neshaminy, Oatlands, Panorama, Penn, Renox, Ryder, Spriggs, Sudley, Washington, Weedmark(T), Westmoreland, Wheeling and Williamsburg series. All of these series except the Greencreek and Weedmark soils receive more than 35 inches of precipitation mainly during the summer period, and also do not contain basalt pebbles in the control section. The Greencreek soils contain less silt, and also contain 10 to 35 percent gravel and cobbles, mainly quartz. The Weedmark soils are moderately deep or deep to a lithic contact.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Caribel soils are on level to steep dissected plateaus. Slopes range from 0 to 45 percent. Elevation ranges from 2,800 to 3,400 feet. These soils formed in material weathered from basalt. Average annual precipitation is 27 to 30 inches. The average annual temperature is 45 to 47 degrees F. The frost free season is 90 to 125 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Potlatch and Helmer series. Potlatch soils are somewhat poorly drained and are in drainageways. Helmer soils have a thick mantle of andic materials, are moderately deep to a fragipan, and are on plateaus at higher elevation.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff is medium. Permeability is moderately slow.
USE AND VEGETATION: Caribel soils are used mainly for forest products, small grains, hay, and pasture. Native vegetation is mostly Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine, with some grand fir; the understory is common snowberry, mallow ninebark, Rocky Mountain maple, willow, creambush oceanspray, pine reedgrass, and other grasses and forbs.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Idaho. This series is of small extent. At present, only known in the northern part of the Kooskia Area, Idaho.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kooskia Area, Idaho, 1965.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the surface to 8 inches (A1 and A2 horizons).
Argillic horizon - The zone from 8 to 73 inches (Bt1, Bt2, Bt3, and Bt4 horizons).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 8 to 28 inches (Bt1, Bt2 and part of the Bt3 horizons).
Based on more recent knowledge of the area of Caribel soils, the taxonomic class would be Vitrandic Glossoboralfs, assuming a udic moisture regime and a frigid temperature regime. The udic regime is based on a predicted forest habitat type of grand fir/queencup beadlily. Some evidence in the Kooskia report suggests a grand fir/mallow ninebark habitat type; if so, a xeric regime is predicted, and the taxonomic class would be Vitrandic Haploxeralfs. TWH 2/94