Abstract:
Findley Lake watershed is located in the Snoqualmie National Forest and has a surface area of 259 ha (1 Mi²). The lake is at an elevation of 1128 m (3701 ft) but the ridges attain elevations of 1450 m (4750 ft).
The Cougar Mountain Formation, consisting of lava flows, conglomerate, and volcanic sandstone, underlies the basin. The area has been glaciated and covered by a number of volcanic ash layers. Carbon 14 dating of stratified charcoal has shown that tephra are present among the ashes of Mt. St. Helens-W, Mt. St. Helens-Y, and Mazama (300, 3200,
and 6700 yr B.P., respectively). An extensive fire occurred 200 years ago. Abies amabilis and Tsuga heterophylla are the most common tree species of the area. Soils were mapped into groups depending upon parent material and vegetation. The following groups were recognized. Soils of talus (16.2% of total); soils of mixed materials: (1) forested (56.2%), (2) semiforested (4.3%), (3) unforested (1.6%); residual soils of the
ridges: (1) forested (17.5%), (2) unforested (4.2%). The soils Include the Haplumbrept, yorthod, and Haplaquept, andic and humic.
