LOCATION FELCHER OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Xeric Haplocambids
TYPICAL PEDON: Felcher very stony clay loam--on a 45 percent west-facing slope--rangeland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 10 inches; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) very stony clay loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate fine and medium granular structure; slightly hard, friable, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine and fine roots; many very fine tubular and irregular pores; 15 percent stones, 10 percent cobbles, and 25 percent gravel; neutral (pH 6.8); gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 15 inches thick)
Bw--10 to 22 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) very gravelly clay loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, firm, moderately sticky and slightly plastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; 2 percent stones, 15 percent cobbles, and 30 percent gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (10 to 25 inches thick)
R--22 inches; igneous (volcanic) rock.
TYPE LOCATION: Harney County, Oregon; in the Trout Creek Mountains west of Center Ridge and about 0.5 mile east of the junction of Big Trout Creek and Cove Canyon; in the SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of section 36, T. 39 S., R. 37 E.; USGS Pole Canyon 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - The soils are dry in all parts of the moisture control section between one half and three fourths of the time when the soil temperature is greater than 41 degrees F.; the soil temperature is above 41 degrees from mid-April through mid-November; aridic moisture regime that borders on xeric.
Mean annual soil temperature - 47 to 50 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature - 59 to 62 degrees F.
Depth to base of cambic horizon - 14 to 40 inches.
Depth to bedrock - 20 to 40 inches to a lithic contact.
Particle-size control section - Clay content: 20 to 35 percent; Rock fragments: 35 to 60 percent, mainly cobbles and gravel. Lithology of fragments are volcanic rocks such as basalt or tuff.
Reaction - Neutral or slightly alkaline.
A horizon - Value: 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 2 or 3, dry or moist.
Rock fragments: 5 to 30 percent stones, 10 to 30 percent cobbles, and 10 to 25 percent gravel.
Bw horizon - Value: 5 or 6 dry, 3 or 4 moist.
Chroma: 3 or 4 dry, 2 through 4 moist.
Texture: Very cobbly clay loam, very cobbly loam, or very gravelly clay loam.
Rock fragments: 0 to 5 percent stones, 10 to 30 percent cobbles, and 15 to 40 percent gravel.
Bk horizon (when present) - Reaction: Slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline.
Other features: Some pedons have a thin BC horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Cewat, Darkcanyon, Drinkwater, Finley, Kiona, Minat, Nibbs, Veet, Veta, and Wifton (T) series.
Cewat soils have mean annual soil temperature of 54 to 59 degrees F. Darkcanyon soils are dominated by rock fragments which are channers and/or flagstones of schist. Drinkwater, Finley, Kiona, Minat, Nibbs, Veet, Veta, and Wifton soils are very deep.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Felcher soils are on plateaus and mountains. They typically occur on shoulder, backslope, and footslope positions. These soils formed in colluvium derived from volcanic rock. Slopes are 5 to 70 percent. Elevations range from 4,100 to 7,100 feet. The climate is semiarid and characterized by cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. The mean annual precipitation is 8 to 14 inches, the mean annual temperature is 45 to 49 degrees F., and the frost-free period is 50 to 100 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Cleavage, Ninemile, and Westbutte soils. Cleavage and Ninemile soils are shallow to lithic contacts, and have mollic epipedons and argillic horizons. Westbutte soils are on adjacent north-facing slopes and have argillic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; high surface runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Felcher soils are used for livestock grazing. The vegetation commonly is bluebunch wheatgrass, Thurber's needlegrass, and Wyoming big sagebrush.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeastern Oregon. These soils are extensive with about 140,000 acres of the series mapped to date. MLRA 23.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Reno, Nevada.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lake County (Southern Part), Oregon, 1991.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - The zone from the soil surface to 10 inches (A horizon).
Cambic horizon - The zone from 10 to 22 inches (Bw horizon).
Lithic contact - The boundary at 22 inches to underlying hard, unweathered bedrock (R layer).
Particle-size control section - The zone from 10 to 22 inches (Bw horizon).
The superactive cation exchange activity class was added in 03/2003 to the taxonomic classification by the National Soil Survey Center on request of the Reno MLRA office, without review of the soil series property data.