42 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1912. 



greater likeliliood of late spring frosts, owing to low dovation, make it 

 a poor fruit soil and not well adapted to commercial orchards. This 

 soil is well suited to clover and alfalfa, and it should be devoted chiefly 

 to these or similar crops. 



COLUMBI.\ FINE SANDY I.OAM. 



The soil of the Columbia Ime sandy loam is ])redommantly a porous, 

 friable fine sandy loam of light grayish brown to buff color. The sub- 

 soil is generally similar m color, texture, and structure to the soil 

 material, and is underlain at varying depths by stratified stream-laid 

 sands ami by basaltic bedrock. 



The soil is alluvial and has been formed by deposition of material 

 from overflow waters of the Columbia River. Owmg to the varying 

 nature of the materials carrietl by the stream, and the irregularity 

 with which they have been laid dowTi, the structure and texture of the 

 type is subject to considerable variation, even within small areas. 

 Near Bmgen the prevailing soil is a moderately fuie sandy loam, m 

 which small amounts of fine waterworn gravel sometunes occur. On 

 the south bank of the Columbia River, from the mouth of Hood River 

 eastward to the boundary of the areas, the soil is usually a very fuie 

 sandy loam, free from gravel or rock. West of the mouth of Hood 

 River it is a heavy fine sandy loam, and in small areas almost a silt 

 loam. In some small areas this type is uniform to a considerable 

 depth, but in general the soil is made up of a number of thin strata of 

 material varymg from fine sands to silt loams. Gravel and bowlders 

 are decidedly rare in this soil, being encountered only in the body of 

 the type near Bmgen, and even here the amount of the coarser mate- 

 rial is too small to be of any importance. 



The Columbia fine sandy loam type is confuied to the flood plain 

 of the Columbia River, and occurs on both sides of that stream. On 

 the Washington side of the river there is but a single area near Bingen, 

 while on the Oregon side areas are numerous, though only small areas 

 occur east of the mouth of the Hood River. 



None of this type is more than a few feet above the usual level of 

 the streams. The land rises from the water's edge with a gentle slope, 

 broken only by occasional sloughs. The drainage of the type is good 

 to deficient, depending upon the elevation of the surface above the 

 general level of the water. Some of the lower lying areas are subject 

 to overflow durmg periods of high water. 



The type is made up of sediments carried by the stream during 

 flood periods. Some of the material has probably been transported 

 great distances and is derived from a variety of quartz-bearing and 

 quartz-free rocks. Mmgled with this is some basaltic material 

 derived from regions adjacent to the survey. 



