LOCATION CHENEY WAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Vitrandic Haploxerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Cheney ashy silt loam - cultivated. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise stated.)
Ap--0 to 10 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) ashy silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 11 inches thick)
A--10 to 14 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) ashy silt loam, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) moist; weak thick platy structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 6.7); clear wavy boundary. (3 to 6 inches thick)
Bw--14 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) ashy silt loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) moist; weak medium prismatic structure; slightly hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; neutral (pH 7.2); gradual wavy boundary. (6 to 10 inches thick)
Bt--22 to 28 inches; light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) ashy silt loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse prismatic structure; hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; common fine roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; very few faint discontinuous clay films on faces of peds; neutral (pH 7.2); clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
2C1--28 to 32 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) very gravelly sandy loam, brown (10YR 4/3) moist; massive; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; few roots; many very fine and fine interstitial pores; 40 percent gravel; few faint carbonate coatings on undersides of some gravel; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick)
2C2--32 to 60 inches; variegated extremely gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 70 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, dominantly basalt, few granite and quartzite fragments; few faint carbonate coatings on undersides of some gravel and cobbles; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Spokane County, Washington; about 1 mile east and 4 miles north of the town of Deep Creek; about 2100 feet north and 50 feet west of the southeast corner of section 36, T. 26 N., R. 40 E.; USGS Deep Creek, Wash. topographic quadrangle; (Latitude 47 degrees, 42 minutes, 27 seconds N. and Longitude 117 degrees, 41 minutes, 26 seconds W.) NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soils are usually moist but are dry in all parts between depths of 8 and 25 inches for 70 to 95 consecutive days during the summer and autumn. The average annual soil temperature is 47 to 52 degrees F. Depth to the discontinuity ranges from 20 to 36 inches. The upper 20 to 36 inches has an estimated moist bulk density of 1.20 to 1.40 g/cc, volcanic glass content of 5 to 20 percent, acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half of the acid-oxalate extractable iron of 0.4 to 1.0 percent, and 15-bar water retention of 5 to 10 percent for air dried samples. The upper part of the control section has less than 50 percent material coarser than fine sand and a weighted average of 0 to 30 percent rock fragments. Reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline in the A and Bw horizons. The mollic epipedon is 10 to 17 inches thick.
The A horizon has value of 4 or 5 dry, 2 or 3 moist, and chroma of 1 to 3, dry or moist. Texture is ashy silt loam or ashy very fine sandy loam and has 10 to 15 percent clay. It has 0 to 30 percent gravel, 0 to 25 percent cobbles and 0 to 10 percent stones.
The Bw or Bt horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry and 3 or 4 moist and chroma of 3 or 4, dry or moist. Texture is ashy loam or ashy silt loam or their gravelly counterparts and has 10 to 18 percent clay. It has none to few faint discontinuous clay films.
2BC horizon present in some pedons
The 2C1 horizon has value of 5 or 6 dry and chroma of 3 or 4, dry or moist. It has 35 to 90 percent rock fragments.
The 2C2 horizon ranges from coarse sand to loamy sand. It has 35 to 90 percent rock fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. The Puyallup series has a similar classification with isotic rather than mixed mineralogy. Puyallup soils do not have a cambic horizon and are dry for 60 to 75 consecutive days.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Cheney soils are on outwash plains and terraces at elevations of 1,800 to 3,000 feet. Slopes are 0 to 30 percent. The soils formed in sandy and gravelly glaciofluvial deposits mixed with loess and volcanic ash in the upper part. The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The average annual precipitation is 15 to 20 inches. The average annual temperature is 46 to 50 degrees F. The frost-free period is 110 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bong, Hesseltine, Tucannon, and Uhlig soils. Bong and Uhlig soils do not have contrasting textures and are on terraces or outwash plains. Hesseltine soils have an argillic horizon and are on outwash plains. Tucannon soils have a lithic contact at a depth of 20 to 40 inches and are on benches and plateaus of channeled scabland.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderate permeability to a depth of about 32 inches and very rapid below.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are used for native range, small grains, peas, alfalfa and grass. Potential natural vegetation is Idaho fescue, beardless wheatgrass, rose, sagebrush, and in places widely spaced ponderosa pine trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Eastern Washington; MLRA 9. Series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Spokane County, Washington, 1917.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from 0 to 14 inches (Ap and A horizons)
Cambic horizon - the zone from 14 to 28 inches (Bw and Bt horizons)
Particle-size control section - the zone from 10 to 40 inches (A, Bw, Bt, 2C1 and part of the 2C2 horizon)
Vitrandic feature - the zone from 0 to 20 inches.
The description reflects a change in classification as of 5/00 from coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Haploxerolls to coarse-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Vitrandic Haploxerolls based on revisions to Soil Taxonomy.