LOCATION BESS UTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Argixerolls
TYPICAL PEDON: Bess fine sandy loam, rangeland. (Colors are for air dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
A--0 to 3 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) fine sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and fine and few medium interstitial pores; neutral (pH 7.2); clear wavy boundary. (2 to 4 inches thick)
Bt1--3 to 10 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/3) sandy clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and fine and few medium tubular pores; few distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 7 inches thick)
Bt2--10 to 16 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) clay loam, dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; many very fine and few fine and medium tubular pores; many distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); abrupt irregular boundary. (6 to 13 inches thick)
Btk--16 to 25 inches; light brown (7.5YR 6/3) loam, dark brown (7.5YR 4/3) moist; moderate medium prismatic structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very hard, firm, sticky and plastic; common very fine and few fine roots; common very fine and few fine tubular pores; common distinct clay films on faces of peds and lining pores; 5 percent gravel and cobbles; strongly effervescent, carbonates are disseminated and in common segregated masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.1); gradual irregular boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick)
Bk1--25 to 40 inches; pink (7.5YR 7/3) loam, brown (7.5YR 5/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slighty plastic; few very fine and fine roots; few very fine and fine tubular pores; 10 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly effervescent, carbonates are disseminated and in common segregated masses; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2); clear wavy boundary. (6 to 17 inches thick)
Bk2--40 to 58 inches; pink (7.5YR 8/4) sandy loam, light brown (7.5YR 6/3) moist; moderate fine and medium subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine and few medium tubular pores; 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; violently effervescent; moderately alkaline (pH 7.9); clear wavy boundary. (13 to 20 inches thick)
Bk3--58 to 60 inches; pink (7.5YR 8/3) silt loam, pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) moist; moderate thick platy parting to moderate fine subangular blocky structure; hard, very friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; many very fine, common fine and few medium tubular pores; strongly effervescent, common carbonate veins; moderately alkaline (pH 8.2).
TYPE LOCATION: Iron County, Utah., Buckskin Valley, about 2000 feet east and 800 feet north of the southwest corner of sec. 31, T. 31 S., R. 6 W; Burnt Peak Quadrangle; lat. 38 degrees 3 minutes 34 seconds N. and long. 112 degrees 34 minutes 56 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Soil moisture - the soil moisture control section is xeric bordering on aridic, in 6 or more out of 10 years, is dry in all parts for 60 to 90 consecutive days in the 4 months following the summer solstice.
Mean annual soil temperature - 42 to 47 degrees F.
Particle size control section clay content - averages 27 to 35 percent
Particle size control section rock fragment content - 0 to 15 percent gravel
Thickness of mollic epipedon - 10 to 18 inches
Depth to carbonates - 16 to 24 inches
The A horizon has a hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value is 4 or 5 dry and 2 or 3 moist, and chroma is 1 to 3. Texture is fine sandy loam, gravelly loam or gravelly sandy loam. Reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline.
The Bt horizon has a hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value is 4 to 6 dry and 3 or 4 moist, and chroma is 2 to 4. Texture is clay loam, sandy clay loam or loam. This horizon contains 0 to 15 percent gravel. Reaction is slightly or moderately alkaline.
The Btk and upper Bk horizons have a hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value is 4 to 6 dry and 3 or 4 moist, and chroma is 2 to 4. Texture is clay loam, sandy clay loam, loam, gravelly clay loam or gravelly sandy clay loam. This horizon contains 0 to 25 percent rock fragments. Reaction is moderately or strongly alkaline.
The lower Bk and C horizons (when present) have a hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value is 6 to 8 dry, 5 to 7 moist, and chroma is 2 to 4. Texture is sandy loam, silt loam, gravelly sandy clay loam, gravelly loam or gravelly sandy loam. The horizon contains 0 to 35 percent rock fragments. Reaction is moderately or strongly alkaline.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Border T(ID), Chesnimnus T(OR), Fewkes (T UT), Justesen (ID), McCarey (ID), Pegram T(ID), and Vicking (UT) and Vickton T(ID). Border soils are noncalcareous and have 15 to 35 percent rock fragments in the particle size control section. Chesnimnus soils are formed in glacial outwash and have a lithological discontiniuity at 48 inches. Fewkes soils are dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days following the summer solstice. sJustesen soils have a depth to carbonates of 24 to 44 inches. McCarey soils are moderately deep to bedrock. Pegram soils soils have a lithological discontiniuity of extremely gravelly material at 39 inches. Vicking soils have a soil moisture control section that is dry for 45 to 60 consecutive days. Vickton soils have bedrock at 40 to 60 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bess soils are on mountainsides. These soils formed in colluvium and residuum derived dominantly from basic and intermediate igneous rocks. Elevations are 5,200 to 7,600 feet. Slopes are 2 to 15 percent. The mean annual precipitation is 12 to 14 inches; mean annual air temperature is 40 to 45 degrees F.; and the freeze free period is 90 to 110 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Pioche and Checkett soils. Both of these soils are shallow to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to high runoff; moderately slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Rangeland. The present vegetation is Utah juniper, big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, and muttongrass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southernwestern Utah; MLRA D28A; This series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Phoenix, Arizona
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Iron County, Iron-Washington Area Soil Survey, Utah, 1997.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Mollic epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to 10 inches (A and Bt1 horizons).
Argillic horizon - the zone of clay accumulation from 10 to 25 inches (Bt1, Bt2, and Btk horizons).
Calcic horizon - the zone of carbonate accumulation is 16 to 58 inches. (Btk, Bk1, and Bk2 horizon)
Particle size control section - the zone from 3 to 23 inches
The classification is based on the "Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Eighth Edition, 1998". The cation exchange activity class is based on lab data from pedon S72UT-021-006.