157 lines
6.7 KiB
HTML
157 lines
6.7 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE html>
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<html lang="en">
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<head>
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<meta charset="UTF-8">
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<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
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<title>The Inland Guide: Spokane's Soil & Season</title>
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<style>
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:root {
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--bg: #0f1115;
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--surface: #1a1d24;
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}
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* { box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0; padding: 0; }
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body {
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background-color: var(--bg);
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color: var(--text);
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font-family: var(--font-main);
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line-height: 1.7;
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max-width: 72ch;
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margin: 0 auto;
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padding: 3rem 1.5rem;
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}
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header {
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border-bottom: 2px solid var(--accent);
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padding-bottom: 2rem;
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margin-bottom: 4rem;
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}
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h1 {
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font-size: 2.8rem;
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letter-spacing: -0.03em;
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margin-bottom: 0.8rem;
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}
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.subtitle {
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color: var(--accent);
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font-family: var(--font-mono);
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font-size: 0.9rem;
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text-transform: uppercase;
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letter-spacing: 0.15em;
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}
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h2 {
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font-size: 1.6rem;
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color: var(--accent);
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margin-top: 4rem;
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margin-bottom: 1.5rem;
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border-left: 4px solid var(--accent);
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padding-left: 1rem;
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}
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p {
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margin-bottom: 1.5rem;
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color: var(--muted);
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font-size: 1.05rem;
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}
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.data-block {
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background: rgba(212, 175, 55, 0.08);
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border: 1px solid var(--accent);
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border-radius: 4px;
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padding: 1.5rem;
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margin: 2rem 0;
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font-family: var(--font-mono);
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font-size: 0.85rem;
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.data-block pre {
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margin: 0.5rem 0;
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white-space: pre-wrap;
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}
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.season-img {
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width: 100%;
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height: auto;
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border-radius: 4px;
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margin: 2rem 0;
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filter: sepia(20%) contrast(110%);
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border: 1px solid #2a2f3a;
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.caption {
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font-family: var(--font-mono);
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font-size: 0.8rem;
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color: var(--muted);
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text-align: center;
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margin-top: 0.5rem;
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display: block;
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}
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.back-link {
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display: inline-block;
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margin-bottom: 2rem;
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color: var(--accent);
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text-decoration: none;
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font-family: var(--font-mono);
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font-size: 0.8rem;
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}
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.back-link:hover {
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text-decoration: underline;
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}
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</style>
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<script defer src="https://analytics.4ort.xyz/script.js" data-website-id="d3ed927c-888a-4a6c-ae5f-0b1c613ddf5b"></script>
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</head>
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<body>
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<a href="index.html" class="back-link">← Return to Home</a>
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<header>
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<h1>The Inland Guide</h1>
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<div class="subtitle">Spokane's Soil & The Rhythm of the Year</div>
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</header>
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<section>
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<p>I have spent forty years walking these hills. The Spokane Valley is not a place for the impatient gardener. Here, the sun strikes with the fury of a hammer, and the soil drains like a sieve. To grow here is not to dominate the earth, but to negotiate with it.</p>
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<p>This is not a calculator. This is a record. A field guide for those willing to learn the language of the dust.</p>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>The Substrate: Sandy Loam</h2>
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<p>Our valley floor is defined by the glacial outwash of the Ice Age. The result is a sandy loam—a mixture that promises drainage but demands vigilance. It holds air beautifully, but water poorly.</p>
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<div class="data-block">
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<strong>Van Genuchten Constants (Sandy Loam)</strong><br><br>
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<pre>α = 0.036 cm⁻¹ (Pore size distribution)
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n = 1.62 (Pore size spread)
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θₛ = 0.43 cm³/cm³ (Saturation)
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θᵣ = 0.065 cm³/cm³ (Residual moisture)</pre>
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<br>
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<span style="color: var(--muted);">// Source: USDA NRCS Soil Survey of Spokane County</span>
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</div>
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<p>These numbers are not abstractions. They are the boundaries of our world. Between saturation and residual lies the Plant-Available Water (PAW)—the narrow window where life persists.</p>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>July: The Great Thirst</h2>
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<img src="https://images.pexels.com/photos/31970460/pexels-photo-31970460.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940" alt="Desert garden with cacti in sandy soil" class="season-img">
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<span class="caption">Fig 1. Adaptation in the arid zone.</span>
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<p>In mid-July, the sun does not ask permission. Evapotranspiration peaks at approximately 5 mm/day. Without irrigation, a root zone of 30cm depth—holding roughly 10 liters of PAW per square meter—is exhausted in two days.</p>
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<p>The lesson is simple: frequency over volume. Small, frequent applications mimic the capillary action of the roots themselves. Deluge irrigation is waste; misting is death by drowning.</p>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>October: The Closing</h2>
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<p>The nights lengthen. The soil cools. This is the season of mulch. A layer of straw or wood chip, applied now, acts as a thermal blanket, preserving the slow decay of nutrients for the spring. It is the final act of stewardship before the snow arrives.</p>
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</section>
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<section>
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<h2>References & Links</h2>
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<ul style="list-style: none; padding-left: 0; color: var(--muted);">
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.8rem;">• <a href="spokane-soil-deficit.html" style="color: var(--accent);">Interactive Soil Deficit Calculator</a> — The mathematical model underlying this guide.</li>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.8rem;">• <a href="https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx" style="color: var(--accent);">USDA Web Soil Survey</a> — Official mapping of the Spokane Basin.</li>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 0.8rem;">• <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Genuchten_model" style="color: var(--accent);">Van Genuchten Model (Wikidata Q2077787)</a> — The physics of unsaturated flow.</li>
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</ul>
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</section>
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<footer style="border-top: 1px solid var(--surface); padding-top: 3rem; margin-top: 5rem; text-align: center; font-family: var(--font-mono); font-size: 0.8rem; color: var(--muted);">
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<p>© 2026 Benjamin Salais • Spokane, WA</p>
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<p>Built for the long term.</p>
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</footer>
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</body>
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</html>
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