OKANAGAN and SIMILKAMEEN VALLEYS BRITISH COLUMBIA

SOIL SURVEY OF THE OKANAGAN and SIMILKAMEEN VALLEYS BRITISH COLUMBIA BY C. C. KELLEY PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND R. H. SPILSBURY DOMINION DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE REPORT No. 3 OF BRITISH COJiUMBIA SURVEY The British Columbia Department of Agriculture in Co-operation with Experimental Farms Service, Dominion Department of Agriculture SM-11823-l :i9 Acknowledgment 4.:. _ The authors wish to acknowledge assistance rendered to them before publi- cation of this report: The soi1 survey work was financed by the British Columbia Department of Agriculture and by the Experimental Farms Service of the Dominion Depart- -7 ment of Agriculture. The base map was supplied by the Department of Lands, Victoria, B.C. - The soi1 maps have been compiled and drawn in the drafting office of the Div- * ision of Field Husbandry, Soils and Agricultural Engineering, Experimental Farms Service, Ottawa. The laboratory analyses were carried out by the Division of Chemistry, Science Service, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa. Mr. E.W. Tisdale, Associate Professor of Range Management, University of Idaho, made a brief ecological study of the district and prepared the sections on native vegetation. Acknowledgement is made to officiais of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and the Experimental Station, Summerland, who provided advisory assistance and descriptive material. Dr. A. Leahey, Soi1 Specialist, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, and Mr. Ben Hoy, Supervising Horticulturist; Kelowna, assisted with general pro- - blems of the survey and reviewed the manuscript. 2 i’ Map of British Columbia showing locations of surveyed areas for which reports and maps have been published: 1. Lower Fraser Valley. 2. Prince George Area. 3. Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. x. 3 t CONTENTS r.. I’AÜE Acknowledgement 2 _I 3 jr” Map Showing the location of the Surveyed :\~a. ; Introduction. 7 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OP THE ARPA: Location and Extent. .......... .............. 7 Topography .................................. S Drainage .................................... S The Similkameen Valley ....................... 9 Surface Geology. ............................. 9 Climat$e ..... ................................ 10 History and Development. .: .................. 1G Irrigation and Domestic Water ............. 1-ï Populat.ion, Towns and Industl ies. .......... 17 Transportation. .... ........ ............ 1s Schools and Farm Homes. ................. 1s Agriculture ................... ............ 1s . SoIla: L Soi1 Formation. .............. ......... 20 Parent Ma.terialü. ........................ 20 Zona1 Soils. ................................... 20 The Soi1 Profile. .............................. 24 Soi1 Classification. ................................ 25 Soils not included in the Heries Clussifcat.ion .... 27 Field Met.hods. ....... .‘. ..................... 27 I>ESCRIPTION OF SOILS: 1. The Brown Soils. ..... .......... ..... 2x SkahaSeries. ................. ::.::. ....... 29 Osoyoos Series. ................. ........ _ . 30 Penticton Series. .......................... 33 Similkameen Series _~_...................... 34 2. The Dark Brown Soils. ........................ 30 Kelowna Series .. .......................... -. 37 Rutaand Series. ............................ 38 Oyama Series. ............................. 39 Glenmore Series. ........................... 41 3. The Black Soils. ....................... :_ .... 43 Armstrong Series. .......................... 4.5 Nahun Series. ............................. 45 Grandview Series. .......................... 47 Spallumcheen Series. ........................ 4s Kalamalka Series. .......................... 50 4. The Intermountain Podsols. ..................... 53 Sicamous Series. ............ ............ 55 Glenemma Series. .......................... 56 Shuswap Series. ............................ 57 Broadview Series ...................... r .... GO 5. The Groundwater Soils. ......................... 62 (A) Minera1 Soils: Mars Series. ....................... , G4 Nisconlith Series. .................. ô7 (B) Bog Soils: Okanagan Muck. .............. : ..... il Miscellaneous hreas: Colluvial Fan Rubble. ...................... : 72 Rough Mountainous Land. .... , ............ 73 Chemical Composition of Soils. ...... ................. ï3 The Effect qf Irriga.tion on hvaila.ble Mincrnls. ........... _. i-ü Soi1 Management .................................... Ï(i Appendix ............................................ 7s / INTRODUCTION This publicalion is the third OI’ :L serit,s reporting the results of a soi1 surve~ \vhich, mhen completed, xvi11coter t,he agricultural sections. of British Columbu~~. Each report, rolnplete in itsrll, is inte~~tled to br a brief descrip6ion of the surveyed area. A descript’ion of thc soils is t,he primary purpose, but the report in- cIudes other cln.ta bearing on their nature 3.1~1utilization. Taken a,s a wholc, t;hc Okanagau tlistrict is notenorllîy for the diversity of its natural resources. Thc northern section procluces grain, clairy products, pork, poultry, :md vrgctables, together \j.illl some fruit. In the south, a greai. variet.y of fruits snd vrgctablcs arc <yrowii in sddit,ion to clairy ,pi+oducts fol local use, and .t.hc variat,ion of climat,u ‘hpromotcs a north and south movcmcnt of food supplies for local consumption at differcnt seasons of the year. In the surrounding mountain region are grazing areas for cat.tlc snd sheep, with the valley as the base for winter feeding. This resource pwrtly supplies the Okanagan district with beef and mutton. The mount.ain district is also the i‘ catchment basin from which the irrigation and domestic water is obtainecl. At elevations up to 6,000 feet, the water from melting snow is stored in clammed lakes and meadows, for use during the growing season. Additional storage space at the higher elevations is still available, but F thousands of acres of good soi1 cannot be reached by gravity wa\er and remain idle for want of irrigation. These lands lie near vallcy lakes and rlvers and they await the day of large-scale pumping. The sources of hydro-electric power for general needs are the British Columbia Poser Commission, the supplier of the North Okanagan, and the West Kootenay Poser & Light CO., whose distribution system covers t,he area to the south of Woods Lake. These utilities are inter- connected for continuous service and their sy?zkms are capable of a11 demands. Most of the mountain area is covered with t.imber, now being èxploited for wood products and fuel. With conservation, ,this resource is extensive enough to ensure a continuous supply. The soils of the region are the most important asset, and in the intensively cultivated district, eVen minor variations affect their conduct under irrigation. ‘In this report they are classified into a simple system of great soi1 groups, soi1 series, and types. The approximate areas of the different soi1 types are shown in appended table 6. The soi! map is published in 4 sheets covering the Okanagan Valley, to- E gether with a few side v$eys and the .southern part of the Similkameen Valley. The maps show the location and extent of the different soi1 types and their average surface textures. The soils 18Fated on the maps are differentiated by symbols and colours which are explained in the Iegend. J j GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA ’ LOCATION AND EXTENT The Okaiagan district is a broad, irregular depression near the east side of the region of interior plateaux. In a noytherly direction, it extends from north latitude 49” to north latitude 50” 45’, the average longitude being 119” 30’ mest. Thr. mappcd area is confined to bottoms and adjacent, slopes of the main valley and sidc valleys, over a total length of about 120 miles. The sout)hern ‘half of the Okanagan Valley’is only 3 to 6 miles wiclc, but it spre& out in the northern part, the total width a.t Armstrong being nbout 12 miles. 8 The classifiecl area in the Okanagun Valley a.nd lower part of the Similka- mccn Valloy covers spprosimatcly 345,000 acres. This dons not include thc Inkcs ancl rough mount.ainous land show1 on t#hc soi1 map. TOPOGRAPHY Thc surfaw features of tht main depression resemble those of an. ancient peneplanc shattcrcd by violent earth movements, in which a drainage system subsequently bcwme cstablished. This old drainage probably took southward moving waters of Shuslvap Lake and Shuswap River, which in Tertiary time flowcd into t.he Columbia River. The North Okanagan, from Kelowna to Sica- mous and Sahnon Arm, is characterizecl by vallcys that branch to east and west, and also by more or less parallel valleys in the main depression. TO the sout.1~ of Kelowna, the valley becomes a single trough, with smaller and less important tributaries. A st,age of glaciation left the valley bottoms U-shapecl, mith parts terraced and filled by colluvial fans and other parts occupied by lakes. The lake elevations, from north to south, indicate within a fem feet the height of the lowest land areas. Low water in Shuswap Lake is 1130 feet above sea level, with Okanagan Lake 1121.7 fect. Skaha Lake is 1107 feet and Osoyoos Lake 903 feet elevation. At drainage lcvel thc south encl of the valley is only 227 feet lower than the north encl. Above moderate valley slopcs, thc upland consists mainly of roundecl and wooded hills with rolling Upper surfaces which rise to elevat.ions of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet. Somc of thesc hi& contain lakcs ancl bogs of limitccl size, which have becn dammed and usecl as a source of lvatcr supply by .thc irrigation

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